


Inch by Inch, Year by Year

by TheDarkestDandelion



Series: The Daemon, the Soldier and a Stolen Bio-Weapon AU [1]
Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Ardyn Being Ardyn, Assassination Attempt(s), Established Relationship, Fear, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Humor, Hurt/Comfort, Jealousy, Lies, Multi, Realisation, Revelations, Romance In Later Chapters, Secrets, Slow Burn, Somnus is a Dick, Strangers to Friends, Victory, ardyn lucis caelum - Freeform, getting caught, traning, when Cor is 20 no romance until then
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-01
Updated: 2019-07-25
Packaged: 2020-05-31 12:41:24
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 36,040
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19426201
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheDarkestDandelion/pseuds/TheDarkestDandelion
Summary: Cor Leonis meets the infamous Ardyn Lucis Caelum, the immortal uncle of the King when he is 13 years old. Ardyn immediately sees potential in the young soldier and decides to take him under his wing. Friendship soon grows and as the years go by, their bond turns into something greater…





	1. You're a Lair

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just to clarify there will be no romance present for the time being. Nothing like that is going to happen until Cor is 20 years old. Just clarifying as I understand that is a very uncomfortable topic and none of that is present in this story. 
> 
> With that out of the way please enjoy :)

Cor Leonis had been enlisted in the Crownsguard for 10 months now.

During that time, he had already gained quite a reputation for himself. He had already taken part in one major battle of the on-going war, between Lucis and Niflheim, and had managed to survive whereas many of the Lucian soldiers did not make it back. Cor had challenged and beaten the Prince’s Shield, Clarus Amicitia more than once. He had fought the Marshal of the Crownsguard and was able to last longer in that fight than most of the other recruits within the Crownsguard. His achievements in the training hall and on the battlefields were starting to get noticed. People within the guard had started calling him: ‘dangerous’, ‘relentless’ and ‘vicious’ and because of that, not many were willing to spar with him. Only the cocky few that thought they could knock him down a size or two tried. After their sparring match, they left the training rooms in a rage, because Cor had put them on their arse.

Soon enough, Lady Lapis Amicitia, the current Shield of the 112th King of Lucis, Mors Lucis Caelum, noticed the potential that the young recruit had. But when she mentioned him to the King he wasn’t at all interested and carried on with his day. Lapis turned to the Founder King, Somnus Lucis Caelum, who gave her the same reaction. Neither of them were bothered by a 16-year-old boy who happened to be exceeding well.

However, this was not the case for the Prince. Regis, at first, was a little bitter that Leonis had beaten his Shield in a fight but as time went on the three of them started to form a close friendship and Regis was more then willing to listen to Lapis. Because he felt that Cor should be given at least some acknowledgment, but his father and immoral grandfather just didn’t seem to care. Regis decided to bring his friend up to his immortal uncle, Ardyn Lucis Caelum, in the hopes he would listen.

And he did.

Ardyn had always been a curious man, and he wanted to meet the soldier that the rest of the Crownsguard had been ranting about for the past couple of months. Both Lady Amicitia and the Marshal had told Ardyn how impressed they were by his efforts, and if those two were impressed, Ardyn felt that this Leonis deserved at least a hello. He knew neither his brother or his nephew were going to do it so, after work one day, Ardyn wandered down to the Crownsguard training halls only to find the person he was looking for practicing weapon training on a dummy. No one else was in the rooms.

Why would there be? Training was done for the day. So why was he still here?

Ardyn cleared his throat to get the soldier’s attention and gave him a warm smile as he spoke. “Good Evening… It’s Leonis, isn’t it?”

Cor swiftly put his weapon away and stood to attention. He bowed in respect to the Royal and replied in an equally respectable tone. “Good evening, your Grace. And yes, sir.”

“I trust that you are settling in well.”

“I am. Thank you, sir.”

“Good.” Ardyn nodded and took a few more steps into the room.

Ardyn didn’t know what to make of the soldier at first. Leonis was a little shorter than average and it seemed he had already been trained to follow orders, like a dog. Ardyn loathed that about both the Crownsguard and Kingsglaive. There was a war on and all the recruits, no matter the ranking, needed to be able to follow orders and work together as a team. But there was a difference between doing their job and acting like a robot. Ardyn couldn’t wait for this war to be over, then maybe all of the soldiers could get their humanity back. Ardyn stopped a few meters in front of Leonis and continued to smile.

“You see, I was speaking to the Marshal yesterday. And he told me that you have excelled quite quickly in the training room, and that he sees a lot of potential in you. I just wanted to take the time to congratulate you. It takes a lot to impress that man. Not even Clarus impressed him like that until he was 18.”

“Thank you, your Grace.” Cor nodded.

“You are welcome. Oh, and by the way, I know you lied.”

Cor simply blinked at Ardyn.

During his time here, Cor had heard many things about the King’s immortal uncle. For example, he was the kindest and carefree out of all the members of the royal family. He tended to play pranks on the King, the Founder King, and the council and got in trouble, a lot. And the most important thing of all, he knew that His Grace was the deadliest being that had ever walked this earth. And because of that Cor knew he had to be wary of him.

And now Cor had been caught out. No, he couldn’t have been. No one would have taken that much of an interest in him to know that he had lied. Only Regis and Clarus knew. And they promised that they wouldn’t tell a soul. 

Cor calmly gulped. “I am sorry, your Grace?”

“Come on now, we both know you are not 16 years old.” Ardyn replied looking around the room. It was almost like he didn’t care. The auburn-haired royal began to pace up and down whilst speaking in such a carefree manner that Cor didn’t know if he was in trouble or not. “I have no idea how you managed to get through all the security checks without it being flagged up and for that reason, I am very impressed. However, you do understand that this is highly illegal, and you could be persecuted on the basis of fraud. Tell me, how old are you?”

“Your Grace, I-”

“Please… I have had enough of being called that for one day. Ardyn will do.”

“Ardyn.” Cor tested the name. It felt strange calling anyone by their first name. Everyone was either addressed by their title, surname or simply sir or ma’am. Ardyn was somehow aware that he had lied about his age and was willing to allow him, to call him by his first name. Cor thought that the daemon was fucking weird. And instead of saying that and getting himself into any more trouble he spoke confidently and tried to convince Ardyn that he was wrong. “I don’t know what you are talking about.”

Ardyn started to laugh. “Yes, you do. You’re not 16 years old. I know you are lying to me.”

“I am not lying.”

“Ok how about this? You tell me your real age and I won’t tell anyone that you lied. Because if this gets out Leonis you could be in some serious trouble.” Ardyn said in a semi-serious tone. He found this whole situation rather amusing. The moment that Regis approached him about Leonis, Ardyn had a feeling there was more too it then his ‘ _friend was achieving well and no one is giving him any credit_.’ The Prince had to learn to be less obvious if he was ever going to be King. Because of the tone, Regis used, and how tall Leonis was for is alleged age, it only took Ardyn about half a minute to realise that the boy wasn’t 16. Maybe he was 15? But he was definitely not the legal age to be allowed into the guard.

However, the soldier didn’t say anything.

Ardyn continued to smile and raised his hands up slightly to prove his understanding of the situation. “I give you my word. I won’t say a thing.”

Cor let out a breath of defeat and reluctantly revealed his age, trying his hardest not to show how pissed off he was. “Fine. I’m… 13.”

Ardyn opened his mouth and immediately closed it again. He did not expect that. He thought maybe Leonis was going to be 15 or 14 at a push, but 13! He was a child! A child fighting in a war! This had suddenly become a lot more complicated then Ardyn had anticipated. Now, he was going to have to find both Regis and Clarus and get them to explain why they hadn’t told anyone about Leonis’s real age yet.

Unfortunately, a deal was a deal and he was not about to go back on it.

“Well… that’s… Oh well, I meant what I said. Looks like you are the youngest person in history to join the Crownsguard.”

“Won’t his Majesty, and his Former Majesty be angry by this?” Cor said, trying to hide his nerves. It was bad enough Regis and Clarus knew, he didn’t need anyone else finding out and he thought that Ardyn would go straight to the King with this revelation. But surprisingly, he just shrugged his shoulders and laughed.

 _By the Six was this man insane._ Cor silently thought to himself.

“Only if they find out. And I swear they won’t hear it from me. Anyway, if they do find out I can’t see it being a major issue. Can you imagine how embarrassing it would be for them if they discovered that a 13-year-old had outsmarted the main source of protection to the crown. I would live another 1000 years to see the look on their faces. It would just be… beautiful. However, I am a man of my word and I promise I won’t say a thing.”

“Thank you.” Cor said with a sigh of relief.

He wasn’t willing to trust the royal, but Regis did mention to him that he went to his uncle if he ever had a problem, and so far said issue’s had never made their way to the King. Maybe the Accused could be trusted with this…

Ardyn crossed his arms over his chest and much to Cor’s dismay, who just wanted to leave, continued to talk. “One question though, how on Eos did you get your parents to agree to allow you to enlist? I would have thought that they valued your education more than fighting in a war. Not very responsible if you ask me.”

“They didn’t agree. They’re dead.” 

“Ah… sorry for talking out of term. That was very cruel of me. I’m sorry.” 

“No need. They weren’t good people anyway.” Cor stated, no longer caring for the past.

He didn’t get on with his parents. They were both into drugs and got themselves murdered because of it. Growing up Cor taught himself self defence and when his parents were no longer around he had to find a way to make ends meet. Be that stealing or entering illegal back alley fights to pay for food and to have a roof over his head. When he heard that the Crownsguard were in desperate need for more recruits, he jumped at the chance and signed up. It was a miracle that no background checks had been done and by the end of the week he was enlisted in the Crownsguard at the age of 13. He didn’t care that the hours were long and the work was hard, he had a secure life and he was not about to go back to back ally fighting again. He just hoped that Ardyn kept to his word.

“Then who is looking after you?” Ardyn asked. And when Cor didn’t respond, Ardyn started to get angry at the society, that he was partly in charge of. “Let me get this straight. You are 13 years old, with no legal guardian, who I take it isn’t in any sort of formal education, who has somehow managed to bypass every security measure and background check that the Crown has, just so you could join the Guard.”

“Yes.”

“Right. Well, I won’t tell my brother nor my nephew what is going on, however, I must insist that you receive some sort of education. No chi- person should be deprived of that.” Ardyn said, hoping he hadn’t offended Leonis any further by nearly calling him a child.

“Can’t. It would clash with patrol and training.” Cor said a little too bluntly. He hated it when he showed his age. Also, it made him feel a little bad. His Grace was being kind to him, but all he wanted to do now was go to bed. 

Ardyn tapped his chin and started to think. Now he was starting to think that there were many reasons why Regis had come to him and Leonis’s education might have been one of them. He was going to be having some serious words with the Prince later. Leonis was right, if he wanted to remain in the guard then he couldn’t go to school. If the rest of the guard found out his age… it may cause a little mayhem that could easily be avoided. All Ardyn had to do was think of something…

Ardyn suddenly clicked his fingers, finally thinking of a way to get around this issue. “I have a solution. I’ll teach you.”

“What?” Cor exclaimed completely forgetting who he was addressing.

“Who better? I have over 2000 years’ worth of knowledge stored in my head. I am probably more qualified to teach you than anyone else in the country.”

“But-”

“No buts Leonis. I am more than happy to do it.”

“Won’t it waste your time? And I can always do an online course or an open school.” Cor didn’t like this idea.

Yes, he wanted to go to school. He was quite clever but the mess with his parents and keeping himself alive got in the way of that. He was more then happy to put it all on hold if it meant he could remain in the Guard. He had grown to love it here, Regis and Clarus had become like the brother’s he never had, and he didn’t want to lose them. He would much rather his academic career be hinder if it meant he could stay.

But Ardyn didn’t see why Leonis couldn’t have both.

“The youth these days. Not everything can be solved with a computer you know? You even being in the Crownsguard confirms it. So, we will meet at least 5 times a week for a 2 hours session. And if anyone asks what we are doing, you will just have to say that you want to further your education. Understand.”

Cor nodded and was soon excused by His Grace.

From that day on, Cor would meet with Ardyn 5 times a week without fail. The only reason why their lessons would be interrupted was if Cor was called to the front or if Ardyn had a serious diplomatic issue that needed his attention. Cor was very grateful to Ardyn for doing this for him but he knew he was only doing for this Regis’s benefit. Cor didn’t care, he was there to protect the Royal Family. That was his job. That had now become his life. Cor being given an education was just an added bonus.

However, Regis got the short end of the straw with this arrangement. 

Ardyn was rather cross at Regis for not informing anyone of Cor’s situation and as punishment force the Prince to learn the names of every single monarch Lucis had had, learn the length of the time they had reigned for, and learn one positive and negative trait that they all possessed. Regis was going to complain to either his father or grandfather but stopped when he realised that Ardyn still could quite easily rat Cor out.

Of course, Ardyn was not going too. He made a promise and he was going to keep to it. However, the threat had become a handy form of blackmail on his 18-year-old nephew.


	2. Lessons and Duty

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was a little longer than intended. Maybe a lot longer but.... does that really matter?
> 
> Nope. 
> 
> Hope you enjoy :)

“It’s not that difficult.”

“You aren’t going to assess me on this! Why am I even learning it?” Cor huffed folding his arms across his chest and kicking the table. (Definitely not showing his age.)

He had been doing this for a couple of months now and he hated it. There was no point in this and he could be doing something else. Like training or getting a bag ready for the next time he was called out to the front. Cor would love to do anything else in this particular moment. If it meant he didn’t have to learn about boring old physics, he really didn’t care. Every time he asked this question, Ardyn would answer him with the same reply.

“To further your education.”

“I don’t give a crap about my education.”

“Neither did Regis, until he realised that economics is highly important when you are in charge of a nation. And guess what he did? He came crawling to me, begging me to help him to understand it. It only proves how important all of this is.” Ardyn laughed.

Regis begging him for help must have been one of the best days of this year. Ardyn loved Regis but it was always funny to watch his nephew’s ‘suffer’, especially when they could have prevented their own suffering if they had just listened to him in the first place. At least the Prince had learnt his lesson. For the time being anyway… Regis had always been a sensible lad, but when it came to certain political, and so-called royal matters, he was a little hopeless. But to his credit, he was getting better at understanding the system. The main thing Regis needed to work on was his poker face. Ardyn was certain Mr Armaugh could help him with that.

Ardyn was pulled from his thoughts by the sound of Cor complaining, again.

“I am not Regis. How is learning about the atom supposed to help me in the future?”

“For someone who wants to pose as a 17-year-old, you are failing miserably at it.” Ardyn shook his head, a little disappointed.

“You’re an Ass Hat.”

“I have been called worse. Let’s try this again, shall we?” Ardyn said, not bothered by the name calling.

In fact, Ardyn allowed anyone to talk to him as they pleased. He wasn’t really one for protocol and all that rubbish. He would much rather Regis or Cor tell him exactly what they thought of him instead of keeping it quiet. He even allowed members of the guard and glaive to talk to him in that manner. The only two people who he refused to allow to speak to him like that was Somnus and Mors. The pair annoyed him too much for a snide comment to be tolerated. However, with Mors there wasn’t a lot he could do. The King never listened to a word he said anyway, so it would be a waste of breath if he snapped at him. But with Somnus… many fights had occurred due to petty name calling.

But Ardyn’s reaction annoyed Cor. In retaliation, he lent further back in his chair and began to sulk. He hated it when he did this. But Regis, Clarus and somehow Ardyn found a way to make him act his age. And sometimes they would point it out. Which would only piss Cor off further.

“Now you are really showing your age. If you are going to have a tantrum about it, why don’t we move on to history instead.”

“No.” Cor sat up straight, breaking from his little episode and going back into full ‘robot mode’. That was Ardyn’s name for it anyway.

“Why ever not?” Ardyn raised an eyebrow, sounding only mildly offended.

“Because you say that everything I have ever been taught is a complete lie. That’s why.”

“Well it is. History is only ever written by the victor’s not by the losers or the bystanders. You can never get the full picture unless all three tell the story. What would you prefer, Lucian, Tenebrian, Niflheimian or Accordoian?”

* * *

Cor got the hang of his new routine pretty quickly. Which consisted of: morning drills, weapon training, lunch, hand to hand combat training, sparring and finally the later afternoon drills. From there he would meet with Ardyn and then rush off to get dinner before hitting the showers and going to bed. He liked this routine. It gave him structure and it was slowly getting him out of trouble. However, on days, like today, where he was only doing morning training this is where things became an issue. He would get into scraps with other members of the guard who were in there early 20s. It would end with him going to the medical wing to either apologise to the person he put in there or sitting in the chair opposite them with a much less severe wound. And Regis and Clarus decided that that wasn’t happening today. 

“Cor come here.” Clarus called over to him just as everyone had finished lunch.

Cor did as he was told and was greeted by Regis who pulled him into a brotherly hug before explaining why he and Clarus wanted his attention. They walked through the Citadel until they came to the weapon and engineering section. Cor had never been down here before. With his current ranking, he wasn’t certain if he was even allowed. Regis didn’t seem to care though.

“Clarus and I would like you to meet a couple of people, who we know you will get along with.” Regis smiled leading him towards the car section of the room.

“Great.” Cor grumbled. He hated meeting new people.

“You will like them I promise.” Regis laughed. The Prince's smile only got wider and he started to wave at someone and gestured for him to come over. The man gladly did and unlike Regis who had a goofy smile, this man’s smile was softer. “Cor, this is Weskham. He’s my steward.”

“My, my, so this is Leonis. Regis has told me a lot about you. I am very impressed, if Regis hadn’t told me your situation I would have never of guessed.” Wesk said stretching out his hand for Cor to take.

Not wanting to be rude Cor shook his hand and said nothing. The 14 year old fort the urge to narrow his eyes at Regis and Clarus. They promised they wouldn’t tell a soul and from the wording of Wesk’s sentence, he knew that they had said something about his age. He was not happy at all.

“Don’t worry Cor. I trust Wesk with my life. Well, as much as I trust Clarus.” Regis joked, attempting to lessen Cor’s worries.

“Shut it Caelum.”

“Are ya bein’ a royal pain again?”

Cor looked left and saw a man wearing a cap. He looked like a mechanic. This was causing Cor to get even more stress, how many people had Regis told?

“And this is Cid. He’s a little spiky. But I am certain you two will get along.”

“Who are ya’ callin’ spiky?” Cid sneered pushing Regis in the chest as he walked passed him. He stopped a meter away from Cor and huffed. “So this is the kid that everyone is rantin’ and ravin’ about.”

“I’m not a kid.” Cor argued. He hated being called that.

“We know. Cid’s only teasing.” Clarus laughed ruffling his hair. Cor squatted his hand away and mutter something under his breath. Why did Clarus and Regis always do that to him?

“You are a kid. Ya not even 16 yet.” Cid stated.

“Shut up!”

“Right, Cid. Cor clearly doesn’t want us to mention it.” Wesk smiled, trying to defuse the tension that was starting to bubble.

“I just want to know how you got in.”

“Don’t know.” Cor said plainly. He was fed up with everyone asking that question.

Cor then lent forward, as Regis had just playfully hit him on the back. “No one does. But that doesn’t matter. We just want you to know that no matter what happens we’ve got your back.”

Great.

Now he was being babied, by not two but, four people. Cor had to fend for himself for almost half a year before he entered the guard. Regis, Clarus, Cid or Wesk hadn’t had to do any of that. He was more self-aware and street smart then any of them would have been at his age. Why couldn’t they just see that? He didn’t want to have a shadow around him constantly. But instead of showing his age, he went back into ‘robot mode’ and remained silent.

Clarus saw the sudden change in Cor and quickly warned Regis to back off before the kid exploded.

“Reg.”

“Umm?” Regis responded completely oblivious to the simmering teenager.

Cor would have to thank Clarus, without him saying those exact words, later. He bowed and addressed the Prince in his ‘robotic voice.’ “Thank you, your Highness. Can I be excused now?”

“But you were just getting to know Cid and Wesk.”

“Reggie, let the boy go.” Wesk commented, also noticing how Cor’s composure had changed.

“Go on.” Clarus said allowing Cor to leave.

After Cor left Regis was confused by the whole ordeal.

“What did I say?”

“Nothin’. I’d keep an eye on him if I were ya.” Cid confirmed before returning to his work.

* * *

For once Cor didn’t go out looking for a fight. It wasn’t worth the effort. He had to attend a lesson with Ardyn later, so he took himself off to the room and waited patiently for His Grace to arrive. He waited two hours before Ardyn arrived. At first the royal looked as pissed off as the Infernian. However, upon seeing Cor he quickly disguised his demeanor to a jollier performance.

“You’re early.” Ardyn chirped, sitting across the table from Cor.

“I would rather learn about physics then...”

“Then what?” Ardyn questioned after Cor paused. “You started the sentence, you might as well finish it.”

“… then deal with people today.”

“The feeling is mutual.” Ardyn snorted.

He and Somnus had just been in an argument with Mors on the importance of security. The King was starting to get paranoid again, so he fired three highly skilled members of his personal guard and refused to take on any more. Apparently, Lapis and two others were enough to protect him. The logic that man had was starting to become more than infuriating by the day.

It wasn’t like they were neck high in a war, that they were losing. It was fine to only have three people constantly by his side, nothing could go possibly wrong with that logic...

Ardyn thought that he would have at least listen to Somnus and that didn’t happen either. Instead, Mors told Somnus to piss off and that his opinion was invalid because the Founder King was ‘stupid enough’ to get rid of his Shield, and that he was in no position to question him. Somnus held his tongue and left Ardyn to deal with it. And that didn’t end very well.

Oh well, at least Ardyn could now have a break from the King for a few hours.

* * *

Sure enough, both Ardyn and Somnus were right to be concern for Mors’s safety.

Just under 3 months later there was an attempt on King Mors’s life and Cor put himself in danger to protect the King. The King was unharmed and escorted to his chambers, the entire Citadel went into lockdown for the rest of the day and the shooter was quickly apprehended by Somnus. It turned out it was a lone Lucian citizen who had had enough of this war and he thought if he ended the King’s life, the war would finally come to a close.

Once everyone was aware there was no danger, everything was up and running again.

Including the ongoing war between the King and his immortal uncle.

“Are you seriously not going to see him?!” Ardyn shouted at his nephew, who was sitting down staring blankly at him.

“That is what I just said.” Mors replied.

“He just saved your life!”

“Yes, he did. Because that is his job. If I went out of my way and thanked every single member of the guard and glaive that has saved my life, I would never get anything done.”

Ardyn couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Cor had literally jumped in front of the King and took a bullet to the shoulder for him. No one else saw the shooter, no one but Cor, the kid wasn’t even on duty. And if the young soldier hadn’t been there or acted as fast as he did Mors would be dead. But no, the man didn’t seem to realise how grateful he should have fucking been. 

Ardyn always found it hard not to lose his temper with the 112th King of Lucis. He acted too much like Somnus for his own good and there was only so much of that selfish behaviour that Ardyn could take. He exhaled sharply and tried his hardest not to shout. “Mors, your son is down there. Regis could have lost you earlier, but thanks to Leonis he hasn’t. He is down there thanking him for saving your life! If he can do it, when it wasn’t his life the assassin was after, then you can.”

“My son has a bleeding heart.” Mors shrugged his shoulders.

Not even the mention of his own son’s feelings would change his mind.

“Somnus has gone down there to thank him! And it’s Somnus, the person who doesn’t care about anything unless sleep is involved.”

“I don’t care.”

“You don’t care.” Ardyn repeated the words in disbelief. He felt his body begin to twitch at Mors’s reaction and he just wanted to beat some sense into the King. The man was cold-hearted and never did anything unless it benefited him or the country. Yes, he was born and raised in the middle of a war but so was Regis. And the Prince was the kindest person that the family had produce since before the war started. Ardyn slightly dug his nails into the palm of his hands and tried to convince Mors again. He hoped that Mors realised that he was walking on some dangerous ground before Ardyn lost it. “Leonis has fought in three major battles in the name of his King and country, one of which had the largest causalities of Lucian soldier’s since the beginning of this war. Now, he has stepped in front you, knowing the likelihood he would die, just to ensure your safety. Soldiers who have been in 20 years of service can’t even lay claim to any of that. And you don’t care!”

Mors remained seated, crossing his legs, showing his uncle he was not about to change his mind. He shook his head and let out a sigh that Ardyn could only describe to be frustration.

“I am not saying his achievements aren’t impressive. All I am saying is that it is expected of everyone in the guard, no matter the age, to do their duty. Leonis did. I don’t need to thank him.”

“You’re telling me that a 14-year-old boy who took a bullet for you doesn’t deserve your thanks.”

Ardyn immediately regretted saying that. Now he had just gotten both Cor and himself into some serious trouble. Mors only confirmed how much trouble the Accused was in, when he saw his face drop and something in his eyes snap. This was probably another reason why he and Mors didn’t get on. When they lost their temper, they both really lost it.

“Excuse me?” Mors questioned in a cutting voice.

Having nothing to lose, Ardyn let himself snap.

“Are you, Somnus and the rest of the guard really that stupid? Of course, he’s not 17. He’s 14 years old, you blind bat! Not only has he saved your life, fought in three major battles, he has also tricked the entire Lucian government, into allowing him to serve his country 3 years before it was legal for him to do so. He has fooled and outsmarted everyone. Now tell me he doesn’t deserve, at least, your acknowledgement if nothing else!”

Mors let out a sigh filled with aggression and rose from his seat. He continued to glare at Ardyn until he walked past him and gestured for him to follow. Mors did not like being made a fool of. He was going to make Ardyn regret pushing him to do something he really didn’t want to do. 

* * *

“You shouldn’t even be here. This is all my fault.” Regis said sadly sitting across from Cor.

“How is it your fault?” Cor questioned, readjusting the sling that he had been forced to wear.

It really wasn’t a big deal he had been shot at before. He was just lucky it was in the shoulder and not the chest this time. But like always, Regis wouldn’t stop babying him. He was doing his job. It didn’t matter to Cor that he had just saved the King’s life, that was what he was paid to do. It wasn’t a big deal. But that was not what everyone else thought. The Marshal had already been down to thank him for his services, he said that Lady Amicitia would have been down as well, but with the recent attack on the King’s life, she had to remain by his side. Like, Clarus was standing outside the room waiting for Regis to appear. What surprised Cor was that the Founder King had also taken the time to come and thank him. But, it still wasn’t that bigger deal, right?

“I asked you to go and get Clarus for me. You wouldn’t have got hurt if I didn’t force you. Your only 14.”

“Regis, we agreed not to mention that. And if I didn’t the King would have died.”

“I know. I don’t want either of you to get hurt. You are like a little brother to Clarus and I, Cor. It is just hard to see you put yourself in that situation.”

“It’s my job.”

“No, it shouldn-”

Regis was cut off by the door swinging open. Regis and Cor looked to the door, and saw King Mors standing in the doorway with Ardyn a couple of feet behind him. On protocol Cor immediately stood up and bowed in respect, whereas Regis remained seated and rolled his eyes at his father’s presence. He could have really done without seeing that man today. He didn’t really care that there had been an attempt on his life, Cor’s life was more important to him.

“Regis. Out.” Mors said bluntly.

“But Fathe-”

“I will not repeat myself!” Mors snapped.

There was a very tense glaring match between the King and the Prince before Regis decided it wasn’t worth it. He let out a sigh and angrily stormed passed his father and uncle. Ardyn lightly patted him on the shoulder as he walked passed and Regis gave his uncle an understanding smile before leaving Cor with two members of his family. Cor remained standing as the King approached him and he did not look at all happy. The tone of voice he was using only confirmed how enraged the King truly was.

“Leonis. My uncle here has been pestering me for the last 3 hours to come and thank you for saving my life. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome, your Majesty. I was only doing my job.” Cor replied not breaking eye contact with the King.

“I know that. However, I am also aware that you have lied about your age.”

Cor briefly looked towards Ardyn, who mouthed the word ‘sorry’ at him. Cor looked back at the King and tried very hard not to show any emotion. He knew how much trouble he was in.

“I did your Majesty.” Cor nodded.

“I should expel you from the Guard for committing that offence. I could even have you arrested. Lying to the Crown is not something that I take lightly. However, as His Grace has pointed out: you did save my life and have contributed to this war more than most of the men we have at our disposal. Because of that, when the Prince makes his trip to Accordo in a few months, you will be going with him.” 

“Yes, your Majesty.” Cor bowed and fought back a gulp. He thought he was headed for the front door.

He quickly looked at Ardyn’s who’s face had darkened, and he was staring daggers at the back of the King’s head. Cor didn’t say anything though. He just stood still and waited until he was told otherwise.

Mors rolled his eyes and turned around to face his uncle. “If you have something to say, I suggest we have this conversation someplace else.”

Mors left the room, leaving the door open for Ardyn to follow. Ardyn let out a light growl, apologised to Cor for telling Mors and followed after his nephew. He managed to hold his tongue when they walked passed Regis and Clarus. He gestured for the pair of them to returned to the room and he heard Regis gulp after he walked passed them. Regis could tell that Ardyn was furious. And he knew all of that anger was directed at his father. Regis didn’t blame Ardyn for being so angry, Regis was angry too. Because he knew the only reason his father bothered to come down was because Ardyn wouldn’t let it drop.

Ardyn did hold his tongue until they passed Somnus. Only then did he allow himself to say something, that had been on his mind for years. He shouldn’t have said it but he could no longer contain himself.

“You, ungrateful jumped up bastard! You are a pathetic excuse of a monarch!”

That caused Mors to stop. He didn’t turn around. He let out a long and heavy breath of anger and annoyance. He was done with Ardyn for the day. “I said we could have this conversation someplace else. Anyway, what would you know about the monarchy? I was under the impression that the Crystal rejected you.”

Ardyn let out a laugh of rage. “You want to talk about rejection, dear nephew? Take a look in the mirror. Your own mother died after giving birth to you because she couldn’t bear the thought of having you as her child.”

“Ardyn! Keep your mouth shut!” Somnus warned looking around to see if there was anyone else present in the hall. Lucky for Ardyn there wasn’t.

“What? Can’t are great and noble King take a dose of his own medicine for a change.”

“If you carry on you are going to get into a lot more trouble.” Somnus whispered sharply. He knew Mors was listening to his every word. Somnus glanced over his shoulder and notice that the King had not moved an inch since Ardyn’s outburst. “Just… remain calm. Come find me afterwards.”

Somnus walked away and left Ardyn and Mors to it. It was becoming increasingly difficult for him to keep the peace between his brother and his grandson. And if he was honest, he no longer wanted too. Mors was not someone who Somnus valued any longer. There wasn’t anything he could do about it. Mors, was exactly what Ardyn had said, but when it came to the war efforts he was too valuable to force off the throne. And Somnus would never force Regis to take on the burden of being King before it was time. He just really hoped that Ardyn could remain calm until then.

* * *

Ardyn did as he was asked and kept his mouth shut until Mors sat in his chair. The King had no expression on his face and all Ardyn wanted to do was tear it off. He loathed the man sitting in front of him.

“Sending Leonis to Accordo is not the answer! He could be killed!”

“He was nearly killed earlier.”

“Shut up this is different, and you know it. You are sending him out there to die. Lucis is not a safe place for anyone at the moment, let alone a child.”

Mors reached over to his desk and took out a cigar from the draw. To piss Ardyn off even further, he refused to respond to him until he had lit it and began to smoke it. After what Ardyn said in the hallway Mors was tempted to make him leave Insomnia and get him to take note of the people who had fallen victim to the scourge in what remained of the Lucian territories. Because Ardyn could no longer heal, it caused the Accused great upset that he could no longer prevent their suffering.

No… Mors was going to save that for another day. Apparently sending a 14-year-old boy to his death was more than enough to get under his skin. The King inhale the toxins and blew the smoke in his uncle’s direction.

“No. I am sending him out there to protect my son and do his duty. Remember uncle, you were the one who pointed out all of his achievements. Because of that, I have come to the conclusion, that if anyone is capable of protecting my son, it is Leonis. However, if he dies in the process, then it is karma for lying to the throne.”

“This is why Regis, Somnus and I, hate you.” Ardyn growled.

He was done, completely done with him. He turned to leave. Mors had the upper hand on this one. It angered him to the core that there was nothing he could do to stop this. Not to mention how angry Regis was going to be when he found out Cor was going along with them. That only made Ardyn more furious because this was clearly going to upset the Prince and his own father didn’t give a shit.

Ardyn quickly turned around and made one last attempt to appeal to Mors’s better nature, before he went to rant to Somnus. “You know what? When I speak to you and try to give you advise and help you, it is like I am having a conversation with a brick wall. Can’t you see what this could do to the relationship between you and your son? Believe it or not, this is the one thing that Somnus and I can actually agree on. You have never listened to either of us, so I don’t understand why we even bother with you anymore.”

“If that is the case why are you still here?” Mors stated with a deadpan face.

Ardyn had to leave. He was going to skin the King alive if he didn’t. He marched over to the exit and as he reached the door Mors called after him.

“Close the door on your way out.”

Ardyn flung the door open and pushed it as far as it would go. He bowed in ‘respect’ to his nephew and purposely left it wide open. As Ardyn walked down the hallway he could hear the shouts from the King to get his arse back there. And the shocked faces of the glaives, made him laugh when he didn’t listen.

Where were they on their ‘annoy each other’ scoreboard now?

_Ardyn: 168._

_Mors: 165._

He loved it when he won. 


	3. Officially My New Favourite Person!

Tension between the three royals had been growing for months.

Mors had decided as soon as Regis had returned he was pulling the wall back. Ardyn and Somnus had fought against him every step of the way. They begged him not to do it for the sake of Lucis. They even offered to take the ring and hold the wall up for him. But Mors refused and told them that they were no longer in charge of this world and that their place was to advise, not to take over. And because it was affecting the King’s health, the council agreed with him. As much as the pair of them loved and missed Regis, they were praying that his journey would take him longer then expected. No one outside the Citadel new what was going on and the moment Regis came back, all who lived outside of Insomnia were going to fall victim to Niflheim and its Magijtek weaponry. With every member of the guard that barged their way into the King’s quarters, or into the throne room, Ardyn and Somnus would hold their breath, always fearing the worst and the news that the Prince had returned. 

Unfortunately, today was that day.

It was only Mors, Somnus and Ardyn in the throne room. The brothers were, yet again, trying to convince Mors that it was a bad idea to pull the wall back. Because it would only prove to the Niffs that they were struggling. That they were weak. Ardyn offered to help fight if it meant the wall would remain. This time both Mors and Somnus told him he was being stupid. If he got captured they would definitely lose. Ardyn or Somnus were not allowed to get involved. 

Again, Mors wasn’t listening to their pleads.

The doors to the room opened and a member of the guard came running in. She stopped at the foot of the steps and bowed until Mors gave her permission to speak. 

“Your Majesty. The Prince has returned.”

“Good. Tell him I’ll see him at dinner.” Mors glanced at his immortal ancestors and saw a look of, almost, fear spread across their faces. He was going to tell them to buck up and deal with it. However, the guard hadn’t left, it appeared that she was waiting for permission to speak again. “What? Is there something else? The Prince didn’t get himself shot, did he?”

“No, Your Majesty. The Prince is perfectly fine. It’s the guard you sent with him, Leonis.”

“Is he dead.”

“No. But by all accounts sire he should be. He undertook the trial of Gilgamesh and survived.”

“HA!”

Ardyn burst into hysterical laughter. He turned to Somnus who looked very confused and then to Mors who had a scowl on his face. They’re facial expressions only made him laugh harder. He had to, very briefly, lean on Somnus for support so he didn’t fall over. Of course, the Founder King elbowed him in the chest to get Ardyn away from him but that only caused Ardyn’s uncontrollable laughs to get louder. “A 15-year-old boy kicked your shield’s arse. That has made my year!”

“Please be quiet.” Somnus said sternly breathing through his nose.

“If you think I am ever going to let this drop, you clearly don’t know me very well at all. Living has suddenly become so much more enjoyable!”

Suddenly the three royals had forgotten about the wall and were just stunned. Ardyn couldn’t stop laughing whilst teasing Somnus, and Somnus was staring daggers at his brother. He was not happy in the slightest at this revelation, and he didn’t believe it either. It was impossible, only the Chosen’s shield was meant to be able to do that and neither the chosen or his shield were born yet. Whereas Mors, was very impressed. While Somnus was distracted by Ardyn’s laughing fit the King asked the guard were her information and had come from. It came directly from Regis, Clarus and Leonis. He was told that people across Lucis had started to call him ‘Cor the Immortal’ and that she was surprised that the news hadn’t reached Insomnia before the trio did. The King was very impressed and a little bitter that he hadn’t seen the potential in this soldier before and he was definitely not going to admit that to his uncle.

Mors excused her and turned back to his ancestors. Somnus looked like he was about to explode as he marched over to him, leaving Ardyn to laugh himself silly.

“If I kill him, would you have any objections?” Somnus asked baring his teeth.

Mors looked at his uncle and shook his head. “No.”

* * *

“Cor the Immortal. You are officially my new favourite person!” Ardyn skipped with glee as he approached his nephew, his nephew’s shield and Cor.

“Hello uncle Ardyn, nice to see you too.” Regis said sarcastically, semi trying to get his uncle’s attention.

“Yes, yes, hello Reggie. I have missed you deeply.” Ardyn smiled and quickly patted the 20-year-old on the head. Regis just frowned and Ardyn was soon addressing Cor instead. “However, you weren’t the one to fight Gilgamesh and survive. You have no idea how long I have been waiting for someone to cut that man down a peg. And now someone has and I am over the moon with joy!”

“It’s nothing.” Cor shrugged his shoulders.

Since that fight, Cor had been quieter and less eager to put himself in dangerous situations. It was a stupid mistake going through with the trials. He wished he had just listened to Clarus and stayed with him, Regis, Wesk and Cid. Cor felt so guilty about making the four of them worry about him. What made the situation even worse was that the word of his ‘achievement’ had spread, along with that ridiculous nickname. He wasn’t immortal. If that fight did anything good for him it made him realise he wasn’t invincible, he wasn’t remarkable, and he definitely was not immortal. He was nothing but a dumb kid who made his friends worry sick about him. If anything, that name was going to bring him shame. And he was well aware that Regis, Clarus, Wesk and Cid hated the fact he was being called that. After all, they were the ones who had to pull him from death's door and tended to him when it should have been the other way around.

Also, he didn’t win. There was no pride in what he had done.

So why was Ardyn, and everyone else, making out like this was such a big deal? To him, it wasn’t. It was just one of the few failures he had experienced in his short life. His life that was nearly taken from him at the hands of a giant. 

Ardyn choked out a laugh of disbelief. “Nothing?! I don’t think you understand what an accomplishment this is, Cor. In a fair fight, no one has ever beaten him. While he has been down in that dark and daemon-ridden cave no one has ever come out alive. You should be incredibly impressed with yourself. I am. His Majesty is. Somnus isn’t but he will be when he realises how amazing this is. You have gained the title of ‘Immortal’, which means you are on the same level as his Former Majesty and myself.”

“Don’t want it thanks.” Cor replied shaking his head. Why didn’t anyone understand that?

“Well… Not a lot you can do about it. Also, I have been told to inform you that Lady Amicitia, The Marshal, and Clarus will no longer be training you.” Ardyn smiled brightly, completely dismissing Cor’s words.

“What?” Clarus questioned before Cor could reply.

Cor went to speak and was again stopped by Regis, who took it upon himself to do all the talking for him. He hated it when this happened. Maybe it would have been better if Mors had just fired him last year. He wouldn’t be being babied by these two if he had.

“Who said that?”

“Your father, Reggie. Cor, from now on, you will be training with myself and his Former Majesty. What do you think to that?”

“All this because I survived? I don’t even remember fighting him.” Cor said a little stunned.

He couldn’t have heard Ardyn right. There was no way he was allowed to train with them. Regis and Clarus were taken back by that news as well. Like, Cor they thought they missed heard it.

“You haven’t just survived that, though have you? You have survived countless battles that you shouldn’t have even been in, you took a bullet for his Majesty when there was an attempt on his life. Not to mention the countless times you have saved your band of brothers on the trip to Accordo. You have proven your self worthy enough to train with us.”

Regis and Clarus just looked between each other in shock. That didn’t happen. That never happened. Only the Shield of the King, maybe the Marshal of the Crownsguard and the Captain of the Kingsglaive were allowed to do that. It was simply unheard of.

They simultaneously turned to Cor who looked puzzled. He was just as shocked as the Prince and Shield. There was honour in this but he couldn’t take it. He felt like he was a fraud. He shouldn’t have even been here in the first place. 

Cor looked at Ardyn and he was at a loss for words. He shouldn’t accept the offer but the only word that came out of his mouth was: “Still…” 

“What did you expect? You achieve something no one else has done before and not get any praise for it? This is the least we could do. Somnus didn’t want you to get any recognition, because he is a bitter sod. But his Majesty and I actually agreed on something for once and we decided this was the right cause of action considering the new position you are going to be granted in the upcoming weeks.”

“Position, what position?”

“Oh that’s right, I failed to mention what his Majesty has decided, didn’t I?”

“Decided on what?” Regis questioned, not liking the fact his father had been mentioned. He was already furious with the whole wall situation and he didn’t need or want Cor being dragged into it.

Ardyn smiled to ease Regis’s worries and proudly made the announcement. “That he is to be the youngest person in history, to become a member of the King’s Personal guard. Now you have to accept the training don’t you.”

“Shit Cor that’s amazing.” Clarus congratulated Cor by patting him on the back.

Cor didn’t respond again. All words had left him. This wasn’t real, was it? Ardyn was being a total ass hat and was playing a prank on him. But by the look of pride on Ardyn’s face and the shocked look on his friends, he knew this wasn’t a prank. But Cor just didn’t know how to react. Or if he should react at all. 

“Indeed, it is. I guess I will see you outside his Former Majesty’s training suite tomorrow. Say 10:30. Just another perk of being trained by the two laziest people in the Citadel, no more 5 am drills. See you then.” Ardyn left the room whistling in delight, leaving his current favourite trio in shock.

Once Ardyn had left Clarus made Cor look at him. He wanted to know how he was feeling about all of this. Like Ardyn, Clarus couldn’t help but be impressed. But knowing Cor as well as he did, the kid wouldn’t say anything unless he was prompted too.

“Cor this is big. No one gets to train with them. I am so proud of you.”

“The Personal Guard as well…. Shit, Cor your only 15.” Regis said with the same pride and surprised tone that Clarus had used. He just hoped Cor was ready for all of this.

“Yeah, this is pretty big.” Cor agreed finally allowing the information to sink in.

“Now you’re getting it. Don’t worry we will always be here to help you if needed.” Regis smiled ruffling Cor’s hair.

“Don’t go all mighty on us because you are getting trained by the immortal bros. You are already a hot-head we don’t need you getting anymore cocky.” Clarus laughed.

Cor went silent again and just nodded. The journey to Accordo had been a fucking roller-coaster, one he would gladly not take again. He thought the second he returned, he would be jumping back into his old routine. He did not expect any of this to take place.

* * *

Ardyn made his way to Somnus’s rooms and didn’t bother knocking as he walked into the darkened room. Ardyn thought his brother would be napping but to his amazement, he wasn’t. It was just another thing that had astonished him today.

First, a child had survived the trial of Gilgamesh, then he and Mors actually agreed on something. And that something was going to benefit more than just the King. And now his brother wasn’t having a nap. What was this world coming to?

Ardyn poked his head through all of the rooms until he came to the balcony area of the Founder’s suite. The door to the balcony was open and Somnus was peacefully sitting on a chair. Just to annoy Somnus, Ardyn wrapped his arms around his head and pulled him in for a hug whilst talking to him like he was an infant. “How are you doing my grumpy sleepy baby brother?”

“Piss off.” Somnus gritted his teeth at him and pushed Ardyn off of him. Couldn’t Ardyn just fucking leave him alone?

Ardyn laughed and stood on the railing, easily balancing himself. He looked over Insomnia and held back a sigh of defeat. Come tomorrow evening, only this city would remain as Lucis last line of defence. It saddened him to think about. That was probably why Somnus was out here. Looking at what was left of the country the pair had founded. Ardyn shook his head, he wasn’t here to talk about that. Maybe teasing his brother would both take their minds off of how gruesome and ugly this war had truly become.

“Don’t be like that. I just want to know how my little baby brother is feeling about his Shield, losing an arm and a fight to a 15-year-old boy.”

“I think you are enjoying this far too much.” Somnus huffed, remaining in his seat. The temptation to push Ardyn off his perch was incredibly high. He remained in his chair so he didn’t do it.

“Oh, you know I am. Now, I get to pick on Gilgamesh for the rest of our existence. This is one of the best days of my life.”

“And tomorrow will be one of the worst.”

“Let’s not talk about the inevitable. How about I continue to be a pain and you just sit there wishing you weren’t so tired to actually come over here and push me to my death.”

“Sounds good to me.” 

* * *

10:30 came and went and Cor was still standing outside the Founder King’s training suite. This wasn’t his normal routine and he hated the fact that he was training so late. It felt wrong and it didn’t help that neither Ardyn or his Former Majesty had arrived. He silently cursed Ardyn and didn’t think too much on the Founder King. The only interaction he had with him was when Somnus came to thank him over saving Mors’s life and Cor had a feeling that Somnus already hated him.

This training session was going to go so well…

It got to 10:45 before Ardyn finally arrived. He was yawning and rubbing his tired eyes, it looked like he had just rolled out of bed. Ardyn did say that he and the former King were the two laziest people in the Citadel. Cor was starting to believe that statement. 

“Ever the eager one, I see.” Ardyn laughed placing a hand on the door. But he didn’t go through. He looked at Cor and raised an eyebrow at him. “What’s wrong?”

“I don’t understand why I am here?” Cor admitted, not really caring if he sounded a little disrespectful. Ardyn never seemed to care or notice, anyway.

“You’re here because, clearly, you are more advanced than most of the guard.”

“I don’t even remember doing it.”

“Enough of the fussing. Come on in.” Ardyn silenced him before they got into that discussion again.

He was tired from having one final argument with Mors before he pulled the wall back this evening, and like usual it was all in vain. He should have listened to what Somnus told him last night and just leave the King to it. This way he wouldn’t be so tired and want to murder his own nephew.

Ardyn shook his head and opened the door allowing Cor to enter the highly restricted room. Cor didn’t know what to expect, but he didn’t expect it to look exactly like the training hall that he was used to, but this one was a little smaller. He thought this being the Founder King’s personal training hall it would be grander. Like being painted a different colour or have pictures on the walls. Maybe he should stop thinking of royalty as anything greater than himself. That thought could get him into a lot of trouble. However, if Regis and Ardyn were anything to go by, maybe it wasn’t such a wrong opinion to have.

“Somnussss! Little brother! Where are you?” Ardyn called out not spotting Somnus anywhere.

Cor remained silent and just aimlessly followed Ardyn as he hadn’t been ordered to do anything else. He already thought Somnus didn’t like him, and he didn’t want to piss him off any further. In a flash of blue Somnus appeared in front of Ardyn and he looked pissed off. Cor bowed and kept his mouth shut.

However, the same could not be said for Ardyn. “There he is. You look awfully grumpy today.”

“Fuck off, Ardyn.” 

“Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning.” Ardyn said trying to make light of the situation. He was aware that Cor knew about the wall but he was certain he didn’t know it was being pulled back today. Ardyn thought it best that information remain a secret until it actually happened. 

“And someone needs to shut up.” Somnus barked.

“Now, now, let’s not argue in front of our student.” 

“Fine. Leonis which one of us do you want to fight?” Somnus questioned bluntly, not giving Cor so much as a hello or even looking him directly in the eye.

“What about a warm up first?” Ardyn suggested not allowing Cor to answer that question.

“This is a warm-up. Which one?”

Cor sensed the tension between the pair, forcing him to swallow a witty comment. Somnus did not seem happy to be doing this. And Cor knew he was nowhere near as relaxed as Ardyn was. He just had to remain calm and act as respectful as he was supposed to be around any member of the royal family.

Because the Blademaster didn’t beat all the ambition out of Cor, he said four words he would later regret saying. “You, your Former Majesty.”

“Cor, I don’t think that is a wise decision.” Ardyn warned, side-eyeing his brother to see his reaction. Somnus still didn’t look impressed. 

“Don’t tell me what to do Ass Hat.”

Ardyn raised his hands in the air. “Alright, don’t say I didn’t warn you. Somnus go easy on him.”

Somnus didn’t go easy on him at all. He wanted to see exactly how Cor had managed to survive the trials and Somnus was left disappointed when Cor was flat on his arse within 5 minutes of fighting. If he was honest it pissed him off even more. This kid was branded an ‘Immortal’ and just from this fight alone Somnus couldn’t see any evidence of that. He thought all of this was a waste of time. He was going to bitch about everything to Ardyn later.

Somnus put away his training sword and walked passed Cor, not bothering to help him off the ground. 

“What you thought because Ardyn is a daemon I’d be easier. That was a very poor calculation on your part. How you managed to survive the trials is an absolute mystery to me.”

“What did Regis and I say about being nice?” Ardyn said from across the hall.

“I am going for a nap.” Somnus waved his hand and left without another word.

The words didn’t bother Cor. Nor the fact that he had so easily lost that fight. He hadn’t expected to win against either Ardyn or Somnus. But what annoyed Cor was the rudeness. He pushed himself off the floor and kept that to himself. There was one thing being high up in the social system and it was another using it to look down on people. Cor was going to have to deal with that every day. No wonder Ardyn and Regis got so annoyed at the Founder King.

“Fun?” Ardyn smiled walking towards him.

“No.”

“I did warn you. Do yourself a favour and ignore him, he is just a… what’s the word… a complete bastard sometimes. I have been with him for 2 millennia and I am still not used to his bitterness.”

“Can’t really ignore him if he is the Founder King.” Cor grumbled getting himself mentally prepared to fight Ardyn.

“I do. And it always brings me so much joy to piss him off.” Ardyn laughed. He swiftly summoned a training sword from his armiger and turned his back to Cor, pretending he wasn’t even there.

“You’re fucking weird.”


	4. You Little Shit!

“No complaining? That’s a first.” Ardyn commented before taking another bite of his apple.

“What are you on about, Caelum?”

“You have sat there quietly for a whole hour while I have been teaching you various different language techniques and not once have you said that ‘this is pointless’ or ‘I am never going to use this later on in life’. It’s just a little strange is all.”

Cor shrugged his shoulders. He wasn’t really paying attention to whatever babble Ardyn was on about. Cor had been feeling so tired lately. Training with Ardyn and Somnus was hard work. He knew he was progressing though because Somnus was, very gradually, acting kinder towards him. But at the moment it just seemed like he had hit a stump with training and all these pointless lessons were making his brain hurt. He would rather the extra training, so he could better himself, and drop these lessons altogether. However, Ardyn said that wasn’t happening until he had turned 18 and the conversation ended there.

Ardyn took another bite from the fruit and snapped his fingers removing what he had written on the whiteboard. “I think we should stop for the day. Tell me, are you enjoying life as a member of the King’s personal guard?”

“Guess so.”

“You guess so? That doesn’t sound very convincing.”

“I don’t care about the work. It’s my job.” Cor shrugged his shoulders again.

He actually enjoyed being a member of the personal guard. It was a very demanding job, but he didn’t mind that. But Ardyn was right not to be convinced. There was one aspect of that job he hated. Cor wasn’t about to complain though. Mainly because he didn’t want to appear weak or sound like he was whining about something that would be considered microscopic to everyone else.

“Yes, and my job is to advise the bugger.” Ardyn laughed, taking a seat.

“The King’s alright.” The King wasn’t the problem. Nor was Lapis Amicitia.

“But…” Ardyn questioned, leaning forward ever so slightly.

“The other members don’t like me. Lapis is fine. Just the rest.”

Not liking him was a bit of an understatement. The other guards in Mors’s select group hated him.

After discovering Cor’s real age, the rest of the guard turned their nose’s up at him. Everyone from the new recruits, all the way to the King’s personal guard despised him. They found it unfair that a 13-year-old was allowed to enlist and remain when it was discovered he lied about his age. Cor was fine with the looks and the stares. He was fine with all of that. What he didn’t like was when he returned from Accordo, everyone started to praise him for surviving his battle against the Blademaster. Suddenly, everyone’s view on him changed and most of the guard had a new-found respect for him.

However, the same could not be said for the King’s personal guard, minus Lady Amicitia. They still hated and despised him, and they definitely did not want a child to be a part of their group. So, they did everything they could to try and upstage him in front of the King, so he would get dismissed. They would make comments about his background, Cor had no idea where they had got that information from, telling him that he would only ever be an orphan to a pair of drug addicts and because he lied about his age he was no different to them. They told him that the King and Shield were only soft on him because of his relationship with their children and that they didn’t believe that he fought Gilgamesh. When they had ‘proof’ of his _lies_ , they were going to Mors and Somnus, just to get him removed. Cor was getting sick of biting his tongue and not reacting. He was surprised he hadn’t exploded yet. But it was getting to that point and he really didn’t want to give them what they wanted. 

“No, they wouldn’t. You are showing them up Cor the Immortal and they hate it.” Ardyn concluded, hiding a little resentment towards these people, with pride for Cor.

“They need to grow up then.” Cor muttered, trying his best to ignore that ridiculous nickname that he really shouldn’t have any claim too. 

“Tell them that.”

“Not worth it.”

* * *

Cor may not think that telling the guard to grow the fuck up was worth it, but Ardyn did.

Over the years, Ardyn had grown quite protective over his student and he did not like the fact that a 16-year-old boy was acting more mature than a bunch of men in their mid-40s! He never liked the nobility in the Lucian society and all of the people in Mors’s guard were either an incredibly rich Lord who’s parents had brought a foreign tutor to train them in their youth, or they fought with no honour and dominated the battlefield making everyone scared of them. More often then not, money and fear went hand in hand.

But Cor wasn’t like that. He trained hard and did everything off his own back to be where he was today. Ardyn always supported the underdog. However, Cor was not going to be the underdog if he got into a fight with one of those jumped up pricks. After all the training Cor had received from himself and Somnus, the kid could easily kick their arses.

Oh…..

That was it. They were jealous. All of them were jealous because they weren’t getting the same treatment as Leonis. Well they didn’t deserve it and Ardyn would refuse to train any of them if one of them was granted the rank of Marshal after the current one retired. Ardyn didn’t have the time for envious people. By this point Ardyn was basically a walking, talking, slightly annoying sack of bubbling black envy and when he came into contact with people similar to him it made him very cross. If it wouldn’t get him into trouble, he would deal with the pricks himself. Scaring the shit out of them would definitely get them to leave Cor alone. But if he did that Mors would get mad. It would definitely be worth it though. Or he could always make Mors aware of the issue. However, the King would just laugh and tell Ardyn to mind his own business.

He could always get Somnus involved but…. he had a better idea.

One, that he knew would get the guard to leave Cor alone.

What he had in mind involved two people who, in their childhood and adolescent lives, were formidable pranksters and they would be more than willing to look out for their honorary little brother in his time of need. 

Ardyn, not using his daemon powers at all, found Regis and Clarus in the hallway walking away from the King’s private quarters and he quickly got their attention. “Regis, Clarus. Cor is having a little trouble with the rest of the guard. Would you mind putting that forward to the Marshal.”

“Who’s giving him trouble?” Clarus grunted. He looked ready to punch whoever it was in the face.

Ardyn didn’t blame him either. But he didn’t want that. He wanted them to be humiliated and all it would take was a gentle nudge in the right direction. “Don’t worry Clarus, if the King and the Marshal get wind of it he’ll be fine.”

“I will ensure he does. I need names though.” Regis said, in a more collective voice then Clarus had just used. But Ardyn could tell that the Prince was very pissed off by the news.

“Everyone who isn’t Lapis in your father’s personal guard. I just think it is a complete _joke_ that grown men can behave in such a way.”

“Thank you uncle, I will tell him as soon as possible.” Regis nodded. Ardyn walked away but he didn’t leave. Having daemonic abilities came in handy when he needed to spy on people. Once he was out of sight from the pair, he went on the ceiling and walked back to listen in on their conversation. As Regis spoke, he used a vengeful and mischievous tone of voice. “Clarus… what do you say? Should we pay a visit to these people before informing the Marshal?”

“Lead the way Reggie.”

Ardyn loved it when things went to plan.

* * *

“Go easy on him today.” Ardyn asked spinning a pen in-between his fingers.

“Easy? That kid is dangerous.” Somnus replied throwing a ball at the wall while they waited for Cor to arrive.

Cor wasn’t late. He was never late. However, Ardyn had somehow managed to get Somnus to the training hall early today. Because he found out this morning Cor was having a hard time, he didn’t want his brother adding to the unneeded stress. At the end of the day, Cor was only 16 and he shouldn’t be doing everything that was expected of him. 

“Yes, I know that however, you could be a little nicer.”

“I am not a nice person.”

“Yes, you are. When you want to be that is. Well, you are kinder then Mors anyway.”

Somnus gave Ardyn a hard look at that statement. “Saying things like that will get you into trouble.”

Ardyn wasn’t wrong but Somnus could also do without the unneeded stress of dealing with a blow out from his grandson today. Not many people liked Ardyn and if someone heard him say that, it would easily find its way back to the King.

Ardyn just shook it off and tried to make Somnus help Cor without him realising it. “I am always in trouble with him. But that is not what we are talking about. Brother, he is the youngest person to ever enlist in the Crownsguard and he has done multiple things that no one on this planet could ever hope to achieve. Give him some credit, at least.”

“He’s a part of Mors’s personal guard what more credit could he possibly want.”

“Maybe, a little respect from the person who is training him.” 

Somnus remained silent and continued to throw the ball at the wall.

For once Somnus did take his brother’s request on board. He went easier on Cor today but only very slightly. And he paid for it. Cor noticed that Somnus wasn’t fighting like himself and he decided to use it to his advantage.

Over the year that he had been training with both Ardyn and Somnus, Cor had discovered their weak points. Ardyn’s was relatively easy to figure out, the Accused always tried to fight as fairly as he could. Meaning if Cor managed to get a cheap shot in he would win. Plus, Ardyn never put his all into fighting, if he did that would be bad. Somnus was a bit trickier to figure out. But last month Cor made a breakthrough. Both he and the Founder King were used to fighting with longer weapons. However, Cor could easily change his fighting style depending on how close he was to his opponent and when he watched Ardyn and Somnus spar, it became clear Somnus couldn’t do that as easily as he could. So if Cor could get close enough to Somnus he would be able to win. Unfortunately, though, Somnus was always too quick on his feet and always warped away before Cor could get close enough to become successful. But today was different. Somnus didn’t warp away this time. Not wasting a second, Cor slid his training weapon along Somnus’s and hooked it underneath it and flung it across the room, disarming the Founder King. 

Ardyn burst into a fit of laughter and was quick to congratulate Cor.

Somnus felt a little bitter about it but he decided to keep his mouth shut for once. He couldn’t deny that was impressive. Very impressive.

“Leonis. Come here.” Somnus ordered clicking his fingers to get Cor’s attention.

“Be nice.” Ardyn stated as Cor began walking over to the Founder King.

“Keep your mouth shut.” Somnus gritted his teeth and patiently waited for Cor to stand in front of him. Cor didn’t know what to expect. Cor knew that Ardyn had said something to his brother about ‘being nice to him’ but something told Cor that Somnus hadn’t expected to lose because of it. Maybe he was going to point out areas where he needed to improve on. Maybe he was going to be angry for what had transpired. However, neither Cor or Ardyn were prepared for what came out of Somnus’s mouth. “I have been a bastard towards you, for personal reasons and I shouldn’t have been. You’re a good soldier and well…. I apologise for the way I have acted towards you.”

“Am I dreaming, or did you just say sorry?” Ardyn said pinching himself to see if he was awake. He was a little shocked by his brother’s words.

“Shut it, Ardyn.”

“Thank you, your Former Majesty. But there was no need.” Cor replied not really knowing how to respond to that. Nor did Ardyn.

“Yes, there was and… I think, considering you have been training with us for a year now, you can call me Somnus.”

“Who are you and what have you done with my little brother!?”

“Oh, fuck off.” Somnus rolled his eyes exiting the room, no longer wanting to deal with Ardyn’s childish behaviour.

After Somnus had left Cor walked up to Ardyn with a confused expression on his face. He didn’t really have a clue what had just happened, Somnus was never that nice. Not to him anyway. Ardyn just laughed at Cor’s expression and ruffled his hair.

“Looks like you have finally earnt his respect, Cor the Immortal.”

Cor hit his hand away. “Don’t call me that Ass Hat.” 

* * *

Later on that evening, Ardyn and Somnus decided to play a game of chess in Somnus’s quarters. And because Regis had nothing better to do he sat down with a cup of tea and watched the match unfold.

The Prince had done this for as long as he could remember. Mors never seemed to have any time for him growing up, so he would often find himself wandering off to find his Grandfather and Uncle. He would either listen to their silly spats, play games with them or watch them play chess. Now, being an adult, it had turned into just watching them play chess. Regis actually found it rather relaxing and he was the one that kept score for them. So far this year, Ardyn was currently in the lead, as he had won three more matches then Somnus had. Both Somnus and Regis were hoping that the brothers would at least take part in two matches tonight, however, Ardyn was taking his sweet, sweet time.

And Somnus was getting rather annoyed.

“Hurry up will you!”

Ardyn raised his hand and kept his eyes glued to the chess board. “Don’t rush me brother dear. I will only rush you on your go if you carry on.”

“I think Regis would like to actually witness us playing another game in his lifetime. At this rate, one of his future children will be on the throne before we finish this game.” Somnus rolled his eyes leaning back in his chair.

Ardyn didn’t respond and continued to concentrate.

It had been Ardyn’s turn for 10 minutes and for once Regis was getting more impatient than his Grandfather. That was probably because Somnus had done this to his uncle at least once during their long lifetime, but Regis just wanted them to pick up the pace. He lent over to move one of Ardyn’s pieces for him but was stopped by Ardyn smacking his hand away. 

“Hands off! How old are you? Six? I thought you stopped being a pain when we played chess a long time ago.”

“Grandfather is right you are taking forever.” Regis moaned, rubbing his hand and scowling at Ardyn.

“You have no idea what forever feels like.”

“He will do if you don’t hurry up.” Somnus began tapping his foot against the floor. This was getting a little ridiculous.

Before Ardyn could utter a witty remark back, all three royals flinched as they heard the King of Lucis roar.

“REGIS LUCIS CAELUM! WHERE THE FUCK ARE YOU?!”

“Sounds like he is in a fantastic mood.” Ardyn sniggered, finally taking his turn.

Somnus narrowed his eyes at his brother and then turned to Regis, who didn’t seem at all bothered by his father’s aggressive cry. Regis was becoming more like Ardyn every single day and Somnus didn’t think that was a good thing. Especially with how enraged Mors sounded. The Prince was definitely going to be in a lot of trouble in a minute.

He shook his head and spoke very bluntly at his youngest grandchild. “What did you do?”

“Leave him alone Som. Regis probably did nothing and Mors is overreacting, like always.”

“I was talking to my grandson, not to you.”

Regis gulped down the rest of his tea before responding. “Nothing that wasn’t deserved.”

Mors barged his way into the room and looked directly at his son. He looked like he had somehow embodied the rage of Ifrit, making Somnus doubt Regis’s statement. He walked over to the trio with hands clenched into fists and not once did he take his eyes off Regis. He completely ignored his ancestor’s presence and began shouting words of fire at his son.

“You little shit! What the hell did you think you were doing?!”

“They were being pricks. They got what they deserved.” Regis said defending himself.

“My personal guard are no concern of yours! You are 21 years of age grow up! Do you really think what you did was funny!?”

“I might, depending on what it was.” Ardyn said very keen to hear what Regis had done to those jumped up lords. He wasn’t planning on taking Mors’s side anyway, and now he was delighted that they had been dealt with.

“Ardyn.” Somnus warned kicking him from underneath the table.

“What?”

Regis nodded. “Yes, I do think drugging your guards, except Lapis and Cor, and then gluing their hands to their faces was very funny.”

“Nicely done, my favourite nephew. High five.” Ardyn laughed raising his hand in the air to congratulate him on yet another successful prank.

Regis gladly returned the gesture with a smile on his face and Somnus just sat there, biting his bottom lip, trying his hardest not to laugh. Ardyn had told Somnus what was going on with Cor earlier and, as much as Somnus hated to admit it, he was beginning to have more respect for the young guard. However, this reaction only fuelled Mors's anger.

He turned his attention to his uncle, face full of complete fury, and screamed at him. They had already had a massive argument today about Ardyn being a pest and with Regis, in his eyes, being an utter shit he lost it. 

“Oh, you think this is funny too!? Uncle, you are on trade duty for the rest of the month! And Regis, as punishment for your childish behaviour you get to attend all my other meetings for me.” The King was well aware that Ardyn hated sorting out issues with trade and as for Regis he was going to be King one day, so the punishment was actually going to help him further down the line. Mors then turned to Somnus who was still tittering on the edge of a laughing fit. “Grandfather, do you think this is funny?! Because I do not have a problem with assigning you a job as well.”

“No.” Somnus snorted, failing miserably at hiding his amusement.

“You fucking liar! Because you lied you are going to attend all of the evening Gala’s for the rest of the month, in my stead, including the one tomorrow evening! I am fucking tired of all of you.” Mors let one final roar and purposely knocked the chess board off the table. He then stormed out and slammed the door on behind him.

All three of them let out a sigh and shook their heads in disappointment in the King.

“Shouldn’t have been picking on Cor.” Regis said kneeling down on the floor to pick up the chess pieces.

“Well done Regis.” Somnus smirked placing the board back on the table, straightening it to prevent anyone, mainly Ardyn, from getting annoyed by the layout. 

“For once it wasn’t me who got us all into trouble.” Ardyn said patting Regis on the back as he too started picking the remaining pieces off the floor.

“That’s a first.”


	5. Realisations

POP!

Cor jolted his head in the direction of the sound, and a series of fake laughter followed after. Upon realising it was yet another champagne bottle being opened he let himself relax, just a little. That was the ninth bottle opening that had got his adrenaline pumping. It was a little embarrassing, but no one seemed to notice. Everyone else was too engrossed in the celebrations to care about him. The young soldier stood on the sidelines, keeping his eye on every corner of the room to ensure that anything and everyone was safe. 

Cor looked at the King, he had Lapis by his side so he was fine. Cor looked around the room to see Somnus who was slumped in a chair. He had his elbow resting on the table and he looked like he was about to fall asleep. Cor let go a small smile. When wasn’t that man trying to have a nap? His eyes then found Regis who was happily dancing the night away with Aulea. Clarus wasn’t too far away from the pair, but far enough to give them some privacy. That was three out of the four royals who he was certain were safe. Now, where the fuck was Ardyn? That was the one person who no one in the guard nor glaive were allowed to lose sight of tonight, and yet no one was panicking at His Grace’s sudden disappearance. Cor’s eyes quickly scanned the room again. He still couldn’t locate him anywhere. He was about to walk over to Clarus and explain the situation to him, but he was stopped by a gentle hand resting on his shoulder. 

“Are you alright?” Wesk asked giving him a warm smile.

“Yes. Sorry.”

Wesk laughed and handed him a glass of water. “You know, you can relax, Cor. It is only His Grace’s birthday party. Nothing is going to happen. Everyone else is having fun. Everyone, except you.”

That was the reason why he couldn’t relax. He nodded to Wesk to say thanks and turned to the crowd to see if he could spot Ardyn once more. There was simply no trace of him. This whole thing was for him and the ungrateful Ass Hat wasn’t even present. The King was going to lose it big time if he noticed that his uncle was missing.

“Relaxing isn’t my thing.” Cor said sipping the water.

“You don’t need to remind me. Every night on the way to Accordo you insisted on being the first on the look out. Cor, you are still a teenager. Maybe, you should start acting like one.”

“Why would I want to act like a teenager? You think I should go out, get myself pissed and fuck some randomer that I don’t even know the name of? I would much rather stand here and keep watch.”

Wesk nearly did a spit take on the whisky that he was drinking. He was able to compose himself, briefly, so he could swallow his drink before laughing at Cor’s choice of words. Cor didn’t find it funny. It still annoyed him that Wesk treated him like a child. He chose to ignore Wesk though and glanced at the three royals that he could see to ensure they were safe.

“I don’t think you have a single idea on how to act like a teenager.” Wesk continued to laugh, placing his empty glass on the side.

“Good.” Cor huffed, now he was getting a little concerned that he could not see Ardyn.

Two hands grabbed Cor’s shoulders and he was spun around to look directly at Wesk who couldn’t get that annoying smile off his face. Great. Another lecture, Cor thought.

“Listen, you are far too stubborn for your own good. If Cid was here, he would have clipped you around the ear and thrown you on to the dance floor by now.”

“I don’t dance.”

“Everyone dances. Look, Regis is dancing with Aulea. Clarus is now having his one dance with Dianella. The Marshal is dancing, Lady Amicitia had her dance about an hour ago, everyone is having a great time. Look, even His Grace is dancing with Lady Katherine.”

Cor slowly turned his head and finally saw Ardyn.

Wesk carried on talking but for some reason, Cor’s brain completely shut him off. Like Wesk’s voice, the room’s laughter and music had turned into nothing but white noise. Cor couldn’t take his eyes off the scene in front of him.

Ardyn and Lady Katherine were in the middle of the dance floor, laughing, smiling and dancing with each other. They were holding each other’s hands, Ardyn had his hand on her waist, and she had her hand on his shoulder. Cor for the life of him couldn’t understand what had come over him. Wesk was right everyone was dancing and having fun. He had attended many of these functions and at all of them, Ardyn had danced with someone. But for some reason tonight, standing on the edge of the room, watching from afar, seeing Ardyn dancing hurt him. It genuinely hurt seeing Ardyn dance with someone.

Cor tried to divert his gaze to Regis who was still dancing with Aulea and nothing. He felt nothing. But as he looked back at Ardyn and Lady Katherine that pain started to form again. Cor quickly looked at Somnus, and again nothing. But this time he tried to stay focus on the Founder King. However, he couldn’t stop his eyes from going back to Ardyn. When they landed on him again, the pain only seemed to get stronger.

What the fuck was this? 

“…and Regis told me if you get a few drinks into his Former Majesty, he may even dance. Now, give me a reason why you can’t dance.” Wesk proudly stated. He stopped smiling when he noticed that Cor wasn’t listening to him and was staring blankly into the centre of the party. Worry started to seep into his mind and to get the young soldier’s attention, Wesk waved a hand in front of Cor’s face. “Cor?… Eos to Cor Leonis? Hello?”

Cor took a step back and shook his head. “Yes, sorry. I zoned out.”

Wesk, thinking that the stress had finally gotten to his little brother, pulled Cor away to one of the balconies so the kid could get some fresh air. “Clarus has finished his dance. I think you need a break, come with me.”

“Fine.”

Cor accepted and turned away from the sight and quickly followed Wesk.

Wesk got Cor more water and left him on his own out on the balcony, as he knew Cor wouldn’t like or accept the fuss.

Once the door had shut, Cor exhaled sharply. He downed the water and the cool air of the April night did nothing to prevent him from feeling hot. His hands felt sweaty and he almost felt jealous. Why? Why was he jealous? He had no right to be jealous. He wasn’t jealous that wasn’t his thing. But thinking about Ardyn dancing with Lady Katherine… it was doing something strange to his head and emotions. But what was the problem? There wasn’t one and there really shouldn’t be one either. Cor leant on the railing and forced down all the envy that had suddenly hit him. He was starting to cool down and he tried to think about something else, anything else. He hated feeling like that. The last time he felt like that was when he saw two members of the guard making out in the locker rooms. As one of those guards was the person he had lost his virginity too. But that pain and envy was nowhere near as strong as it was when he saw Lady Katherine playing with Ardyn’s hair…

NO!

Cor ran his hands through his hair and took in a series of deep breaths. No. That… that wasn’t possible. Cor wasn’t allowed to have feelings like that towards him. Ardyn was a member of the royal family and one of his best friends. No. Cor attempted to make an excuse up in his head. He was tired, he was a little dehydrated, he was annoyed that he had to attend this party.

But all of that was in vain. He couldn’t lie to himself. 

He had a crush on Ardyn Lucis Caelum. A big one.

_Fuck._

“I hate these things.”

If things weren’t bad enough, the man in question had appeared out of nowhere, standing on top of the railings, staring out into the city.

“It’s your party.” Cor said pretending that Ardyn’s presence hadn’t made him feel like he wanted to hide away in a dark hole.

He felt his hands get sweaty again and because Cor now knew the reason why he was acting like a typical teenager, he inched away from Ardyn. Which, inadvertently, gave Ardyn permission to hop off the railing and stand next to him.

Cor felt a lump form in his throat as the pair of them stared, in silence, at the city lights and the wall that was keeping them safe from the Niffs weaponry. The silence was making this a lot more awkward for the young soldier. As it gave him time to allow the sudden realisation to sink in. He knew that Ardyn would be able to tell that something was wrong with him, they had known each other for four years now and there wasn’t a lot Cor kept secret from the Daemon Lord. Cor thought it was because Ardyn would be able to guess or try to get it out of him. But that wasn’t the reason why he told him things. He told Ardyn when something was bothering him because he trusted Ardyn and because he wanted him to know.

He did not want to have a crush on Ardyn, but those feelings weren’t about to go away. Lucky for Cor though, Ardyn seemed to be too distracted by the lights of the city to notice how he was behaving. 

After a few moments, Ardyn finally spoke. He sounded, almost, sad. “Doesn’t mean I wanted it. However, our glorious, radiant King, likes to piss me off.”

“His Majesty isn’t all bad.” Cor replied, a little confused as to why Ardyn sounded the way he did.

“Not to his personal guard no. Never has been. He gets a little paranoid that one of them might stab him in the back. But to everyone else, including myself, Somnus and Regis, we are nothing to him. We are nothing but the scum of this earth to him. He treats this city like it is his little playground and cares not for the people on the other side of that wall. Why do you think he pulled it back? To him, Insomnia is Lucis, not the country itself. Somnus and I begged him not to do it. We even suggested that he hand over the ring to us so we didn’t have to condemn the people on the other side. No, he had to remind us that we are only here to advise and not to take over. He gets me so angry, the amount of times he has made me want to rip his throa…” Ardyn paused in mid-sentence. He shouldn’t be getting angry, but Mors had purposely put on this party to piss him off. He didn’t want it. All he wanted was to sit down and have a drink with Somnus and Regis and do nothing else. Ardyn didn’t like to be reminded of how old he was. Because with every birthday that came along it slowly washed away the hope of ever getting his eternal rest. “Sorry, I shouldn’t be ranting to you.”

“It’s fine.”

“No, it’s not. At least Mors has allowed you to have a break.”

“Wesk’s fault. I was happy not having one.” Cor lied. He really needed one after seeing Ardyn and Katherine dance. Now, all the envy had gone and he was concerned with how Ardyn was feeling. He had never seen Ardyn act so… emotional. He wasn’t crying but he could hear the sorrow and hurt behind his voice and Cor didn’t like it. 

Ardyn forced out a chuckle. “Cor, everyone needs a break. You need a break from duty and I need a break from my nephew.”

“When the war is over I might.”

“You have your entire life ahead of you. Don’t waste it by putting your all into a pointless war.”

The air fell flat. The way Ardyn had said that was like a warning. It was like he knew something that no one else was aware of yet. But he didn’t push for information, instead he nudged him with his elbow and did what he could to cheer Ardyn up. It was strange seeing him in a low mood. “Why can’t you take on aboard your own advice? You don’t have to be here if you don’t want to be.”

“My life ended a long time ago. It’s no longer mine to do as I wish. I am but a slave to this crumbling nation and to the man who sits on that throne.”

“You don’t have to be.”

Cor tried not to take a step back when Ardyn stared at him dead in the eye. Cor never noticed how beautiful Ardyn’s eyes were before. The darkness made the gold in his eyes glow. No. He was going to try and shut off all of these emotions and feelings before he got himself into trouble.

Ardyn gave him a soft smile and turned back to the city. “Maybe.”

“I better get back. Happy Birthday, Ass Hat.”

“Thank you, Cor.”

* * *

The next morning, once Somnus had left the training hall, Ardyn pulled Cor to one side and tried to explain his odd behaviour from last night.

“What I said yesterday about Mors, I shouldn’t have said it. It was wrong of me to say those things.”

“What things?” Cor questioned, playing dumb. There was a lot of things from last night that was better left unsaid in his opinion.

That earnt Cor a smile. Ardyn laughed and went back to his normal jolly self. “Nothing. Regis and Clarus are lucky to have you as a friend Cor. Thank you for looking after them.”

“They need it. Sometimes I think they are more reckless than me.”

“Only if they are left alone together. Also, you seemed a little distracted last night. I do hope everything is well.”

Fuck, Ardyn had noticed. Cor thought he was in the clear. He felt his hands get sweaty again and the envy started to pile up in his chest. If there was one thing Cor was certain about, it was that Ardyn was not finding out he had a crush on him. Cor was trying to stop himself from feeling that way, and he was failing, in Ardyn’s words, ‘tremendously’ at it.

“Nothing. Just Wesk pushing me to dance. Not my thing.”

“Dancing? Dancing is like fighting. Just a little tamer.” Ardyn explained, but this time he didn’t seem to notice that Cor was hiding something. 

“And it is the one thing I am never going to do as long as I live.”

“Really? Well, your military career looks like it is only heading one way. If you were to become Marshal one day, you have to take part in one dance as a part of your initiation gala.” 

“Won’t take the job then.” Cor simply said. Never in his wildest dreams did he think he could achieve a rank that grand.

Ardyn tapped his chin and pretended that Cor hadn’t just said that. He would be a fool to turned down an offer like that. And considering that Cor was best friends with both Regis and Clarus, and was an extremely skilled fighter, there was no doubt in Ardyn’s mind he would achieve that ranking by the time he was 25. “ _Marshal Leonis_? It has a nice ring to it. Anyway, I mustn’t dawdle. Apparently, Somnus is going to be a kind little brother and take me out somewhere for a late birthday lunch.”

“Good luck with that.”

* * *

Cor was determined to get rid of his crush on Ardyn.

And he definitely went about it the wrong way. He decided that he would go out, get drunk and sleep with people. (Doing the exact thing that he told Wesk he would never do.) A lot of people. Most of which were a part of the guard. And most he regretted sleeping with afterwards. However, his feelings for Ardyn hadn’t changed. In fact, as the months grew longer so did his emotions for the daemon-infested royal.

As his emotions grew the more he became certain that he was no longer bi-sexual. At the beginning of adolescence, he was attracted to both men and women, but when he slept with women to forget about Ardyn it didn’t feel right. It was no longer working for him. Sleeping with men, however, worked for a time. Not only was he starting to accept that he had feelings for his best friend’s immortal uncle, he was also coming to terms with the fact he was gay. And being 17 years old, with no parents to turn to it was pretty tough. He saw Lapis’s and Clarus’s relationship and Cor could nearly describe it as perfect. The mother and son loved and respected each other. They both understood each other and Clarus had told him once that he could tell his mother anything. Growing up Cor wished he had that with his parents. But now, he was just glad they were no longer here. His relationship with his parents was closer to how Regis and Mors interacted with each other. The only difference being that the King was still alive. Anyway, Regis never went to Mors with any problems. They would all go directly to his grandfather and uncle.

Cor wasn’t lucky enough to have someone like that who he could trust growing up. However, that was no longer the case and he knew if he could tell anyone about his sexuality it was going to be Clarus.

Maybe Clarus was a little too old to be playing video games, and Cor was a little too stubborn to accept he enjoyed them, but the pair had found themselves in Clarus’s apartment playing a combat game. Cor thought it was the best time to bring up the subject. “Clarus, you know I told you when we went to Accordo that I thought I was gay.”

“Yes.” Clarus said losing concentration on what he was doing as Cor was far more important than a game, to him. 

“Well, I know that for a fact now.”

“That’s nothing to be ashamed of.” Clarus said losing to Cor.

He put the controller down and turned to Cor who was fiddling with the buttons, despite the game being over.

Cor wasn’t ashamed of it. He was just worried that he hadn’t been able to shake off his crush on Ardyn yet. He was not about to tell Clarus that though. He was certain with time it would go away.

It would go away, right? “I am not ashamed. I just… I thought you should know.”

“Regis, Cid, Wesk and I love you know matter what.”

“I know that.”

Clarus reached over and ruffled Cor’s hair. For once Cor didn’t act aggressively towards him, he just sat in silence and looked at Clarus as he spoke to him. “I feel truly honoured that you thought you could come and tell me. Just so you are aware you can tell me anything you like. No matter what it is I am never going to judge you, little bro.”

“Thanks, Clarus.” Cor smiled.


	6. You Don't Scare Me

****The 112 th King of Lucis passed away in his sleep.

Insomnia mourned the loss of their King. Many in Lucis wept at the news. Many others didn’t. Tenebrae and Accordo sent their sympathies and Niflheim didn’t verbally respond. Because of the Niffs reaction, Somnus and Ardyn did not have time to grieve over the loss of their family. Pulling that wall back was a stupid idea and they knew that the Niffs were preparing for an attack. Striking when the Crown was at it’s most vulnerable was an excellent idea. One that the brothers agreed they should do if Iedolas ever kicked the bucket. But to ensure that Regis, now being the only ‘surviving’ member of the royal family, Somnus and Ardyn constantly remained by his side until they were certain that he and Clarus understood all the responsibilities that had been forced upon them. 

To their surprise Regis proved himself a lot quicker then Mors did.

After a couple of months, Somnus and Ardyn asked Regis if he would hand over the ring to them, so they could protect everyone, not just Insomnia. And just like his father, Regis refused. But unlike Mors, Regis gave them a valid reason and it was the same reasoning that his late father had kept hidden from their immortal ancestors. Mors understood, even if he did pass the ring over, it would only lessen his pain as the Crystal would still be taken his strength away. As soon as a monarch put that ring on their finger they were bound to it for life, by pulling back that wall it eased the pain and prolonged his life if only by a few years. But if Regis took the throne with only Insomnia to protect he and the rest of their line would live so much longer and the pain would lessen for his only child. Mors did what he did for Regis, and Regis now understood that he had to protect everyone. Not just the people living now but for the people who would inherit the world after he was gone. The line of Lucis had to succeed for Ardyn and Somnus to have their eternal rest. That was why he couldn’t hand over the ring and that was why he was not extending the wall. Taking the words of his Grandfather, Regis knew he had to push on and accept the consequences of his actions. At some point, it could be one of his children, it could be one of his children’s children, the Chosen King was going to be born. And as harsh as it sounded the child needed to be prepared for what was to come. If that meant Lucis was going to fall victim to the Niffs, it wouldn’t be forever. Because that child was going to be the most important person to everyone on Eos. And save everyone from the darkness.

Upon hearing the reasoning, Somnus agreed and decided not to bother Regis with the subject any longer. No matter how cruel the decision was, it would benefit the rest of Eos years down the line. Ardyn, however, hated the decision. It upset and angered him so much he completely ignored Regis for a week. He was upset because he couldn’t help the people on the other side of the wall. For it was no longer his decision to make. He was angry because he was jealous. Originally it was he and Somnus who were destined to protect this world, but no the Gods saw it fit to find them both unworthy and pick a mere child who hadn’t been born yet. He hated those Astrals. Every single one of them.

And like the petty daemon he was, he bottled up all of his emotions and allowed it to consume him. He was being an idiot, he was well aware of that. But talking to Somnus or Regis was not something he was prepared to do at the moment. And the anger finally boiled over when Founder’s Day came along. Lucky for everyone in Insomnia it happened at the end of the day and at the time he lost his shit he was only near one person. Unfortunately, for Cor, that person was him.

Ardyn was giving Cor a lecture on something to do with maths when a siren started to blare. After a few seconds, the door locked itself and a metal seal formed around the door. Ardyn just let out a sigh and Cor grew very concerned. He rushed to the door and tried the handle, but it wouldn’t budge. 

“Shit. What is going on?” Cor grumbled to himself before banging on the door to get someone’s attention. “Hello! Is anyone out there!”

“Probably just a system malfunction. Happens all the time.” Ardyn said. His head was starting to throb with rage now. It would probably take the tiniest thing to make him snap.

“No, it doesn’t. What’s gotten into you?” Cor tried the handle again. Ardyn had been acting weird all day. Cor understood that he never found Founder’s Day appealing but he never point blanked refused to take part in the celebrations. He never purposely ignored Somnus or Regis on this day either and he had done all of that. And when Ardyn said that he wanted to teach him maths once Cor was off duty…. He didn’t know it was just weird. Cor quickly called Clarus to see what was going on. If he answered there was probably nothing wrong. But if he didn’t Cor needed to find a way to get out of here quick, so he could help Clarus protect Regis.

Thankfully Clarus picked up. “Clarus?! What’s going on?”

 _“Someone typed the wrong password into his computer. The entire system has gone into lockdown. We are sorting out the problem.”_ Clarus replied, and Cor could hear a very sheepish Regis in the background apologising. 

“That’s a relief. Ardyn and I are locked in one of the rooms in the lower levels. Room C:13. Any chance you can get us out?”

_“Yes, we will send someone down… Did you say C:13?”_

Clarus voice had changed from being annoyed to worry in a matter of seconds. Which was always cause for concern. Cor looked up to the top of the door to ensure that he had got the numbers right before responding. 

“Yeah. We are on the same floor as the Crystal. Clarus what’s wrong?”

“ _Somnus.”_

“ _Leonis, put me on the phone to Ardyn now!_ ” Cor heard the panic in Somnus’s voice.

And that was enough for Cor to do exactly what he was told for once. He turned around and was about to hand over his phone to Ardyn, but he was met with a pair of glowing yellow eyes, instead of the golden honey ones. Cor stared directly at Ardyn’s face and for the first time ever he was witnessing the scourge trickling down the Accused’s face. It was seeping out of his eye sockets and pouring out of his nose and mouth. Cor saw Ardyn’s veins turn black and a blackish-purple hue began to swarm around him. Cor remained very still. He had only ever heard tales of Ardyn losing control of himself, he never thought he was going to experience it first-hand.

Ardyn let out a tiny growl as he locked eyes with Cor. But Cor knew better than to retreat. He stood very still, trying not to make any sudden movements and spoke in the calmest voice he could muster given the situation.

“I don’t think I can do that.”

 _“Shit! Cor you need to stay away from him! Leonis, do you understand me!_ ”

“Yeah.” Cor replied but something caught his eye. Before Cor went to open the door, Ardyn was only a couple of feet away from him. And now he was backed up into a corner, holding himself and just staring back at him. Ardyn put himself there. Taking that as a sign that Ardyn may slightly still be aware of what was going on, Cor slowly approached him. “Ardyn… Hey, it’s alright.”

“Stay… away….” Ardyn said breathlessly, gripping himself tighter and pushing himself further back into the corner like a scared animal.

“I can he-”

“I SAID STAY AWAY!!!!”

As Ardyn roared he lashed his right arm out and took a swing at Cor. Cor quickly ducked and took a few paces away from him. But he did not turn around. Cor managed to get a hold of his own breathing and remained calm, but Ardyn couldn’t. His hands were now on his head and he was breathing uncontrollably. The scourge was coming out of his hands and he was caking his head in the vile substance. Cor couldn’t do anything but stared.

“ _Cor! Cor! Are you okay? Cor?”_ Regis scared voice pulled him back to reality. He didn’t take his eyes off of Ardyn as he replied.

“Yeah. What’s gotten into him?”

“ _It’s the Crystal, I told him not to go anywhere near it. Cor you need to stay away from him._ ” Somnus explained, using the same panicked voice as he had used before.

“Kind of difficult when I am locked in the same room as him.”

“ _Cor you need to remain still_.” Clarus warned.

“ _He’s not a fucking wasp!_ ” Regis’s voice getting more troublesome with every word he spoke.

Cor had never seen this before, but by Regis’s and Somnus’s reaction they definitely had. But Ardyn didn’t look dangerous to him. He actually looked frightened if anything else. Cor kept his eyes on Ardyn, even when Ardyn let go of his head to stare him in the eye again. The scourge was completely covering his face now. If Cor was stupid he would have materialised his weapon by now. However, the only time so far that Ardyn had tried to attack him was when he made the advancement. So he stood still, kept his composure and did not back any further away. He didn’t want to provoke Ardyn.

There was a noise at the other end of his phone that sounded like a whimper. Ardyn didn’t like that noise. He started to growl again, but this time he was looking at the phone that Cor was holding to his ear. To ensure that the other’s would hear him and that Ardyn didn’t suddenly attack him, he put the phone on speaker and carefully placed it on the ground. Still not looking away from Ardyn. Ardyn’s gaze followed the phone, confirming that he wasn’t interested in him. Which was definitely a good thing. But when they heard the whimpering noise again, which was from Regis, Ardyn bared his teeth and he looked like he was about to destroy the phone.

“No offense guys, but I don’t think you are helping.”

“ _Ardyn stop! You need to get a hold of yourself_!”

At the sound of his brother’s voice, Ardyn screamed. “DON’T TELL ME WHAT TO DO!!!!!”

Cor reacted quickly, he ducked and rolled out of the way just in the nick of time as Ardyn let out a mighty roar and sent his armiger flying towards the door. At that point, Cor had to take his eyes off Ardyn and look at the door that was now covered in pink transparent weapons. Ardyn’s breathing got heavy and the scourge around him grew. 

“SHIT MAN!” Cor shouted turning back to Ardyn, however, he didn’t show Ardyn any signs of weakness. He stood his ground and kept staring directly into his eyes. 

“ _Cor! Clarus we need to get him out of there!_ ” Regis’s voice flooded the room, he sounded like he was in tears.

“ _Somnus is on his way down to you Cor_.” Clarus tried to reassure him and keep Regis calm at the same time.

At the mention of Somnus’s name, Ardyn backed himself back into the corner and sunk to his knees. The scourge was still plastering his face and the blackish hue was still swarming around him. Ardyn went back to holding himself and stared at the floor. To Cor, Ardyn still didn’t look dangerous. He looked lost. He looked nearly frightened… That was when Cor decided he was going to deal with this himself. He took a few steps forward and spoke freely into the room, so he was certain Ardyn, Regis and Clarus could hear him.

“No, Clarus. I’ve got this.”

“ _Cor no! Stop!_ ”

Cor didn’t listen to Regis. Instead, he went over to his phone and put it on silent, so that neither he nor Ardyn could hear Regis and Clarus desperately trying to stop Cor. He put the phone back on the floor and slowly approached Ardyn again. Cor didn’t stop moving towards Ardyn when the Accursed lifted his head to look at him. Nor did Cor stop when Ardyn shuffled back further into the wall. He only stopped when he was a few feet away from Ardyn, and when Cor crouched down to Ardyn’s level, Ardyn began to shout again. The shout wasn’t one of aggression it was one littered with fear and panic.

“YOU NEED TO STAY AWAY FROM ME!!!” 

“Ardyn…. look at me. You’re not going to hurt me.” Cor said in a steady and comforting voice. 

“YES, I WILL!”

“No. Because if you were going too you would have done it already.” 

“WHAT! DON’T YOU DARE PRESUME TO KNOW ME!” Ardyn spat back. The fear in his voice had gone and it had been replaced with confusion. The change didn’t faze Cor. He sat on the floor directly in front of Ardyn and lifted his hand up. 

“I am not presuming anything. I do know you Ardyn. I know that you would never hurt anyone on purpose.” Cor moved his hand forward and rested it on Ardyn’s forearm. Ardyn instantly flinched but Cor didn’t remove his hand. He just continued to talk. “I’m not scared of you Ardyn. Everything is okay.”

The swarm above Ardyn’s head started to seep back into his body. His hands were no longer coated with the scourge and his eyes stopped glowing yellow. His face was still covered in the black sludge and it was still pouring out of his eyes and nose. Cor noticed the change and carried on talking, just like he had done before.

“Ardyn, it’s okay. Everything is fine.” The scourge drew back and now Ardyn looked like himself again. However, his breathing hadn’t calmed down and Cor knew that he could go back to how he was a few seconds ago if Cor didn’t carry on speaking words of comfort towards him, and to prove to Ardyn that his words were genuine, Cor left his hand gripped on Ardyn’s arm, as a sign of trust. “Ardyn. Can you hear me?”

Ardyn blinked, nodded and replied in a very shaken voice. “Cor… I….”

“It’s alright I am not hurt. You’re not hurt. No one’s hurt. I promise. It's fine. Everything is fine.”

Ardyn seemed to relax more after he had told him that. Cor felt the tension in Ardyn’s arm lessen, which lead to Cor giving him a comforting smile. Ardyn still looked very shaken up and what didn’t help his state of mind further was a sudden loud knock at the door. Ardyn’s entire body twitched, forcing Cor to place his other hand on Ardyn’s arm. Cor locked his eyes with Ardyn and used the same tone of voice that had seemed to sooth Ardyn again.

“They’re just opening the door to get us out. It’s alright.”

The door opened and Somnus stepped in with a look of stone on his face. He was going to get his weapon out in case he needed it, but instead of preparing for a fight with his brother, he was left confused at the sight before him. “Cor are you alright?”

“Yes. We’re both alright.” Cor said turning to look at Somnus, still holding Ardyn’s arms as it was giving the man a sense of comfort and security.

“What’s he doing?” Somnus asked in a surprised tone.

“Nothing. Ardyn, it’s your brother.” Cor said turning back to Ardyn. When he did this, Cor noticed that Ardyn’s eyes were beginning to glow yellow again. Not wanting to see Ardyn in that state, Cor raised his voice and shook his arms, so he would listen to him. “OI NO! Control it Ardyn I know you can. Come on.”

Ardyn violently shook his head and held his breath to snap himself back to reality. He could feel the scourge begin to slowly creep up on him again, and he knew he wouldn’t be able to contain himself if he stayed here much longer. He needed to feel safe if he was going to be able to fight this off. 

“Cor, I need to get out of here.” Ardyn said in a panic.

“Come on then.”

Cor swiftly pulled Ardyn to his feet and pushed him out of the opened door, ignoring the look that Somnus was giving him.

* * *

Ardyn spent the rest of the evening and the majority of the next day isolated in his quarter’s. No one but Somnus was allowed to visit him when he was like this and after Somnus was certain that Ardyn was stable he went to find Cor. Regis and Clarus had already given Cor a bollocking over what he did and the young soldier just shrugged it off, claiming there would be no telling what Ardyn would have done if he hadn’t of done that. Somnus was just amazed he had been able to do it. Amazed and slightly annoyed. His annoyance was the only thing he expressed when he did find Cor and pulled him into his office to get him to explain himself.

“How did you do that?”

“Do what?”

“Calm him down.”

“I don’t know. I just said what he needed to hear.” Cor was also expressing annoyance. It didn’t matter how he did it, he was just glad he had. Why were Regis, Clarus, and Somnus so concerned about it? Ardyn was in control of himself and out the way. Did it really matter how he got to that stage? 

Somnus didn’t like that answer. But he was too tired to push for information. Instead, he went straight to scolding Cor. “Humm…. Don’t be so bloody stupid in future. He could have killed you!”

“Sorry.” Cor rolled his eyes. That was about the thirtieth time he had heard that same sentence in less than two days.

“Next time, you might not be here to apologise. I am saying this to get you to understand he is not someone you can merely talk around”

“Well, I did Somnus. I don’t know how I did it, or why he listened to me, but he did. Maybe if you didn’t treat your brother like he is a broken shard of glass may be the pair of you might actually get along!”

Cor gritted his teeth rising from his chair and headed for the door. He still hadn’t been able to get rid of his feelings for Ardyn and after witnessing him turn, and seeing how Somnus, Regis, Clarus, everyone, treated him afterwards… it made him feel sick. At the end of the day Ardyn was still a person and he should be treated like one. They should just be fucking grateful that Ardyn could control himself and bite his tongue. Cor was finally understanding why Mors and Somnus got under his skin so much.

Somnus did not like the way Cor had just spoken to him. He got Cor to stop and he spat venom back at Cor. 

“Leonis stop! Don’t ever speak to me like that again. I am attempting to give you advice here.”

“I am sorry? Is Regis unfit to rule Lucis or something? Because until the council, yourself and Ardyn have all decided on that I don’t have to take any orders from you.” Cor said opening the door preparing to leave. Somnus had no control over him. He was still a member of the King’s personal guard, which meant not even the Founder King could tell him what to do.

“Okay. Get yourself killed. See if I care.”

“I am not called ‘Cor the Immortal’ for nothing!” Cor shouted back finally leaving the room to go back to his little apartment within the Citadel.

“You will be called ‘Cor the Mortal’ if you carry on pretending Ardyn isn’t a threat!” Somnus shouted after him, and Cor didn’t respond.

* * *

It took about a week for Ardyn to fully recover. It took far too long. He would usually be back to his old self in a day or two, but this time was different. This time he knew how much upset and grief he had caused Regis, Clarus and Cor. He didn’t want to hurt them, physically or emotionally. He didn’t really care what Somnus thought about everything he was mainly concerned about them. His first port of call was his nephew. When he apologised Regis forgave him within seconds and just asked Ardyn to tell him, if he ever felt like he was losing control again. Ardyn agreed and said sorry to Clarus, but Clarus didn’t want the apology for him. He wanted Ardyn to talk to Cor. Both the King and Shield didn’t believe Cor when he said he was fine. And neither did Ardyn.

Wasting no more time Ardyn found Cor outside of Clarus’s office and because Clarus was with Regis, Ardyn decided it was for the best to have this private conversation in the Shield’s office. 

“Cor, I am sorry about what happened the other week.” 

“It’s okay. You don’t need to explain yourself.” Cor said honestly. Because despite what everyone else thought, he was okay. His main concern was Ardyn, not himself. But he wasn’t about to say that out loud.

Ardyn shook his head. “No, I do. You see whenever the ring is passed over to the next monarch I find it difficult to control myself. The daemons aren’t exactly the humblest of beings and they like to remind me of certain things I would rather forget. I thought I had managed to escape it this time, but Regis and I had a disagreement over…. something, and being so near the Crystal… I lost control and I am sorry if I caused you any discomfort.”

“It’s fine. No one got hurt.”

“But you need to understand I could have hurt you. I don’t want to hurt anyone and if, heaven forbid, you find yourself in that situation again please listen to Somnus, Regis, and Clarus and leave me be.” Ardyn sounded like he was begging. He didn’t care. He was willing to try anything to get Cor to listen to him. Because Somnus was right, he was a threat and he felt like he should be treated like one.

Cor didn’t. When he looked at Ardyn he didn’t see a monster. He didn’t see the Accursed. He saw someone who appeared to be on top of the world. Someone, who liked to wind people up for the pure enjoyment of it. But after seeing Ardyn turn, he realised that Ardyn had to fight to keep himself in check. Who had to constantly remain calm in case he boiled over and attacked someone. He was tormented and because Cor’s feelings for Ardyn hadn’t stopped and had actually strengthened after what happened a week ago, he wanted to help him. He didn’t want to see Ardyn hurt. Ardyn had always been kind to him. Now it was time to repay that favour, and be one of the only people to treat him like a human being, not a daemon. 

“You don’t scare me Ardyn.”

“You should be scared of me. You are a fool if you’re not.” Ardyn warned. 

“Then… I am a fool.”

“Can you stand there and honestly say, that you are not scared of this?” Ardyn said allowing the scourge to run down his face. Because he was in control of his emotions it meant he was in control of the scourge. And to Ardyn’s surprise Cor didn’t flinch or take a step back. In fact, he moved closer towards him. 

Cor shook his head. “No. I am not scared at all.”

Ardyn remained silent for a moment until all the scourge had made it’s way into his body. He was stunned. Somnus still hated seeing it. Regis and Clarus always retreated when they saw who he really was. But why wasn’t Cor? Why wasn’t he scared of him? And because Ardyn was silent, Cor took that as an opportunity to speak.

“I’m not scared, but I know you are scared of yourself, and you shouldn’t be. Because what I saw wasn’t you. Anyway, you fought it off, you did good Ardyn.”

“… Thank you. Thank you for saying that. Somnus has never said that to me before.” Ardyn admitted.

If Ardyn was honest, that was all he wanted from Somnus. He wanted his brother to realise that he did have control and that he didn’t need to shout at him after he lost it. And to be told by the only person who he had been with throughout his long life that he was still good. That he could do good. would be a dream come true. But his brother wasn’t the one to say it. It was Cor. But why?

Why would he say that?

“He needs to look at you as his brother and not a monster. I don’t see you as one and I am not going to treat you like it either.” 


	7. I Begin To See You Differently

Ardyn could not sleep.

It had been nearly a year since his near meltdown on Founder’s Day, and he started to think. Why wasn’t Cor scared of him? Ardyn couldn’t figure it out. Everyone else was, even he was scared of himself. But for some reason or another Cor wasn’t. Ardyn would often ask Cor why, and he just told him that he wasn’t. So sometimes during training Ardyn would purposely allow the scourge to drip down his face to get a reaction out of Cor. The first time he did it, he made Cor flinch and Somnus shout at him. But all the other times Cor acted as if nothing has happened. Why couldn’t that 19-year-old just understand how dangerous he was? Everyone else understood this. And everyone else kept their distance from him when he was in a mood. But Cor didn’t. Cor would now approach him and ask Ardyn if he wanted to talk about what was troubling him. Somnus seemed more than happy to pass the responsibility of keeping an eye on Ardyn on to the guard. Ardyn wasn’t about to complain. Somnus always made him feel worse. He made him angrier and agitated whereas Cor didn’t. 

Cor calmed him.

But how?

That was the confusing part, how could he do that?

Many others had succeeded at calming him down in the past. It tended to be one of his nephews or nieces but that hadn’t been the case for two centuries. Suddenly, a commoner who should mean absolutely nothing to him was able to help. It felt strange. It was, very slowly, beginning to scare him. Because what would happen if Ardyn failed to listen to Cor? What would happen if he lost his shit and Cor couldn’t help him? What if Ardyn lashed out and was the cause of the soldier’s death? Regis and Clarus would never forgive him. Ardyn didn’t think he would be able to forgive himself if that did happen. All of these ifs and buts were keeping him up. And by the time it got to the later hours of the morning Ardyn decided that Cor was no longer allowed to be the person to help him, and Somnus had to take that role on again. He was not being the cause of Cor’s death and Ardyn didn’t care if he wasn’t scared of him, Cor was going to listen.

However, because his thoughts had kept him up he lost track of time. And for once it was Ardyn who was the last one to enter the training rooms. And for once Somnus didn’t care if he appeared petty in front of anyone that wasn’t Ardyn or Regis, he was incredibly proud of himself for getting here before Ardyn for a change and he rubbed the victory in his brother’s face.

This had turned out to be an odd morning.

Because Ardyn had been tardy he wasn’t allowed a say in how they were training today. Ardyn knew what was coming. He had been trying to avoid all three of them fighting each other all at the same time for a while now. One because it wasn’t fair on Cor. No matter how much training Cor had done the brothers still had 2000 years’ worth of experience over him. And two, Ardyn was going to go for Somnus first. There was no debate about that. Cor would gain nothing from them using this method of training, but he wasn’t allowed a say.

He wasn’t surprised that Cor was doing pretty well in this match. Ardyn did fight the urge to put all his attention on to Somnus. He did, now and again, fight Cor instead and Somnus used that to his advantage and knocked Ardyn to his feet. Being tired and having enough, Ardyn tapped out and decided to watch Cor and Somnus spar. To begin with he wasn’t paying much attention. He was spinning his hat on his finger and humming a simple tune to himself. But when the sound of metal clanging together intensified he looked up and he felt the scourge race down his spine.

Nothing had happened. Cor and Somnus were sparring with each other. But with each sound of swords bashing against one another the scourge jumped and crawled all around him. It felt like someone had flicked a switch on in his brain and a wave of protectiveness consumed him. Without thinking he summoned the Star of the Rogue and flung it in between the pair. And Ardyn missed his target as he had intended to hit Somnus directly in the chest, but the little bugger moved. 

Cor and Somnus immediately stopped fighting and got out of the way as fast as they could.

Once Somnus had landed firmly on his feet, he turned on his heels and shouted aggressively at Ardyn. “Brother, where is your head at?!”

Ardyn didn’t have an answer to that question. All he knew was that he couldn’t watch the pair fight anymore. He couldn’t allow it to take place. 

“Sorry, I was away with the fairies.” Ardyn replied, pretending not to be confused by his actions. He had no idea where that raw emotion had come from.

“You could have killed Cor or I then! Wake up!”

Ardyn’s eyes narrowed. He wouldn’t hurt Cor. How dare Somnus say such a thing! Somnus on the other hand, yes, he would gladly claim his brother’s life in a second. But harming Cor… no. That was one thing he would never do. But that protectiveness had come from somewhere and Ardyn was starting to understand where. His body reacted like that because he thought he had to protect Cor from Somnus. That’s why their sparring match couldn’t continue. Ardyn was starting to get emotional flashbacks from two thousand years ago and he didn’t want to go through that pain again. 

_What? Where the fuck had that thought come from?_

He had seen Cor and Somnus fight hundreds of times and all of a sudden he couldn’t do it.

Ardyn took in a deep breath and pushed that raw emotion down. And in a very dark tone, he replied to his brother. “Says you.”

“Ardyn are you okay?”

At Cor’s question, Ardyn turned to him and his mind went blank. Ardyn knew that question was genuine. Whenever Cor asked him about his welfare it always was. But this time Ardyn felt incredibly flattered. _Why do I feel like that?_ Ardyn blinked and looked back at Somnus, when he did this aggression soon clouded his mind. Ardyn was getting confused. Why was he feeling like this? He noticed that both Cor and Somnus were giving him questionable stares and he realised that he hadn’t replied to Cor yet.

“Yes, I am perfectly fine, thank you. I think I am going to take a leaf out of your book brother dear and have a nap.”

“Yes, you need one with that fucking shot.” Somnus complained again, and Ardyn could feel himself getting more irritated with him by the second.

“I get it. Just… please do everyone a favour and shut that hole in your face. Thank you very muchly.”

Ardyn left and as he reached the door the scourge was trying to pull him back. He ignored it and continued but there was something in the back of his mind nagging him to stay. That he had to stay, because he couldn’t leave Cor with Somnus. Or that he should make up a silly excuse to get Cor away from his brother. Ardyn could feel himself becoming conflicted and he knew he had to leave before he did something that would get him into trouble with Regis. Not caring for the ‘no daemon magic usage within the Citadel’ rule, he poofed away.

“Something’s not right there.” Cor commented, looking at the spot that Ardyn had been a few seconds ago. 

“Ummm… I am sure one of us will find out. If you don’t mind I am going for a nap as well.”

“Not my place to mind.”

“Guess not.”

* * *

Ardyn appeared in the Citadel’s gardens and stayed there for two hours thinking about what had just taken place. He couldn’t fathom why he had done that. Why he had suddenly felt so scared seeing Cor and Somnus fight with each other. And why, he had to do something to protect Cor from his brother. He was being stupid. Cor was more than capable of looking after himself, and he had beaten Somnus more times in a sparring match than he had. When the three of them trained no one was ever in any danger and to ensure that, they always had potions, elixir’s, even Phoenix downs at the ready. It didn’t make any sense as to why he would want to protect Cor or feel he had to. But he did. He really did. In his gut Ardyn knew that this feeling would never extend to anyone else than Somnus. It was only Somnus that Ardyn had now grown wary of around Cor.

The emotional flashbacks appeared again and this time because he wasn’t in that situation he was able to comprehend what was going on. Watching Cor and Somnus fight scared him because it reminded him of Somnus striking down Aera.

_Shit._

Ardyn didn’t know when he started walking but he soon found himself wandering through the halls of the Citadel trying to make sense of the emotions he was feeling. After what happened two thousand years ago, Ardyn felt so protective of any romantic partner he had when they were around Somnus. Once, he went as far to leave Insomnia with his partner just to ensure that Somnus couldn’t be near them. Now, that emotion was surfacing again, and Cor was at the center of it.

Ardyn shook his head and started talking to himself, trying his best to fight his feelings. “No, no, no. That is never happening.” Ardyn turned the corner to get to his office and he nearly bumped into the person who was standing outside the door. When he saw who it was, he felt his heart skip a beat.

“Cor...”

“Hey, Ass Hat. I was just wondering if you were okay? You ran out of the training room pretty quickly.” Cor asked getting straight to the point.

No one had actually seen Ardyn in hours and both Cor and Somnus were beginning to get worried. Mainly because of how he had acted this morning. But Cor was concerned because he didn’t like seeing Ardyn upset. 

In his confused state and bubbling emotions Ardyn couldn’t help but stutter. “No. I mean yes. Thank you for the concern but I am perfectly alright. My head is just not in the right place at the moment.”

“Is there anything I can do to help?”

“No. Just… I need some time alone for a bit. Please can you inform Regis that I won’t be having dinner with him and Aulea tonight.” Ardyn said walking pass Cor, opening his office door. This wasn’t something anyone could fix. This was something he had to deal with on his own.

“Okay.” Cor replied but before the door could close on him, he raised his voice to get Ardyn’s attention. “Ardyn, if there is anything I can do let me know. I don’t mind helping or just being here to listen if you need it.”

 _You can stop sparring with Somnus, that would make me feel a lot happier and stable._ Ardyn thought. 

“Thank you, Leonis. I will bear that in mind.”

Ardyn closed the door and rested his head against the wooden frame. His heart rate had increased and the want to protect Cor had not gone away. And Ardyn knew for a fact it wasn’t going too either. He knew exactly what this was, it had happened a few times in his long life but he couldn’t allow it to happen now. Cor was one of his nephew’s best friends. They were friends. They couldn’t be anything more than that. That was how it had to stay. 

Ardyn banged his head against the door as hard as he could accepting his feelings. One simple word summarised the situation he had found himself in perfectly.

“Fuck.”

* * *

Emotions were nasty things to Ardyn and his feelings for Cor had not gone.

Ardyn wasn’t about to voice them either. But it was hard to act normal around Cor, especially when the pair of them trained with Somnus. Ardyn would dig his nails into the palm of his hands to stop himself from stepping in whenever they fought with each other. Other times he would make up excuses and take his leave. And one time he screamed at them to stop. Leaving both Cor and Somnus stunned at the outburst. After that incident, Ardyn left Insomnia and decided he would go and annoy Gilgamesh for a few weeks. He couldn’t do this anymore. He couldn’t stand there and watch it or let it happen.

When he returned he asked Somnus to stop training with Cor. Somnus didn’t really care and agreed with Ardyn because it meant he could stay in bed for longer. Ardyn was just grateful that Somnus had a slightly self-centered personality and didn’t ask for the reasoning behind his request. But when Cor found out he wouldn’t let it drop. In the end, Ardyn lied and told him Somnus was just being lazy and couldn’t be asked to do it anymore.

(Well it was a half-lie.)

Months went by and things were back to normal. Ardyn would train Cor, attend meetings, annoy Somnus, annoy the council, entertain Regis, Clarus, and Aulea. Ardyn was feeling a lot more stable and comfortable with his emotions and himself again.

However, there was one thing that was out of place. Since Cor was 19, nearly 20 now, their lessons together had stopped. For Cor was far too busy with helping the Marshal train the guard and Cor didn’t need to have them anymore. It hurt. It hurt Ardyn that he wasn’t seeing Cor as often as he would like. Because he thought he couldn’t afford to voice his feelings, he said nothing on the matter. The times he did spend with Cor, Regis, Clarus and Aulea where there too. That was the only thing that wasn’t normal and Ardyn hated it. Ardyn told himself that he didn’t want to see Cor because he had feelings for him, he wanted to spend time with him so Somnus wasn’t anywhere near him. That’s when Ardyn decided to spend time with Cor individually. Ardyn told Cor that he wanted to give him advice on how to handle the guard and Cor was happy to accept the offer. As time went on it turned into them hanging out and playing pranks on a few unlucky and rude council members the pair shared a dislike for. And they decided to give Regis and Clarus a taste of their own medicine and prank them. When Cor suggested they prank Somnus, Ardyn said no. The protectiveness was not going away and if Ardyn could help it he would keep Cor away from his brother for as long as he could. Things were going well from there. He was happy he knew Cor was safe and everything was ticking along nicely.

That was until Regis and Clarus decided to play a prank of their own.

Ardyn and Somnus walked into the throne room to see Regis and Clarus sniggering with each other. It annoyed the brothers because they had just sat through an extremely important meeting and the four of them were meant to discuss things further after the council had left the meeting room. Somehow, the King and Shield managed to slip away with the council leaving Somnus and Ardyn to wander aimlessly around the Citadel for 10 minutes looking for the missing duo.

“What are you two laughing at?” Somnus asked bluntly, not really giving two shits at what they were doing.

“Nothing.” Regis cleared his throat giving his ancestors a cheeky smile.

“You shouldn’t lie to your family Reggie.” Ardyn rolled his eyes. He wanted to get back to finishing the novel he had been reading, like Somnus he really could not be asked to deal with their behaviour today.

“I’m not lying. I am not laughing anymore.”

“Clarus is.”

The Shield couldn’t help himself. Ardyn’s words just made him snigger louder. The brothers gave him a hard stare until he confessed to what was going on.

“Fine. We may have set Cor up on a blind date.”

Ardyn had to stop his eyes from going wide. Those words pained him to hear. His hands started to twitch and his heart began to sting. He locked his jaw so he couldn’t say anything and allowed Clarus’s words to go around and around in his head. He was fucking jealous. Ardyn was not going to lie to himself on that front. But no one else was knowing. Regis and Clarus just had to keep their mouths shut and he would be fin-

“And they are already 20 minutes into their date.”

Ardyn closed his eyes and silently begged for Regis to shut up. Because if he didn’t, Ardyn didn’t know if he would be able to stop himself from shutting Regis up.

“He is going to kill you.” Somnus said. Ardyn stopped himself from growling and muttering under his breath: ‘ _If he doesn’t I will’_. Thankfully no one heard him.

“It’s only a prank and who knows, something good might actually come out of it.” Regis said proudly.

“We just feel that Cor deserves to be happy.”

“He puts more effort into Lucis then the pair of us combined and he doesn’t even have a title to go with it, at the moment. We are just trying to do something nice for him.”

“He is not going to appreciate it.” Ardyn said digging his nails into his hands, controlling the eruption of jealousy that had taken over him. He agreed that Cor deserved to be happy. Just not with someone else… he meant not with someone he didn’t know…. He meant, oh fuck it. He wanted Cor to be happy with him. 

Somnus shook his head and decided he was done with dealing with Regis for the day. “If Cor decides you two will make good training dummies I am not going to stop him, nor is anyone else. I am going for a nap.”

Somnus began to walk away and he nearly jumped out of his skin by the explosive words that poured out of his brother’s mouth.

“Can the pair of you just grow up!”

“Woah, Ardyn!” Somnus said turning back to see a very enraged Ardyn staring at both Regis and Clarus with hatred. What the fuck was going on?

“Why do you two have to behave like children 24/7! You are the King of Lucis and you are his Shield now! Start acting like it!”

“It’s only a laugh Ardyn.” Regis said, feeling very uneasy as he had no idea what had caused that outburst.

“I’ll give you a reason to laugh in a minute!”

Somnus stepped in front of Ardyn and noticed his eyes were beginning to turn. The Founder King angrily clicked his fingers in Ardyn’s face and shouted back at him before things got messy.

“Do not make me in act Article 5 on you! Leave now!”

The threat of going back to Angelgard was enough to pull Ardyn back to reality and he left without another word.

Ardyn locked himself in his quarters and the jealousy kept sneaking up on him, tormenting him and he was not liking this one bit. When he did leave his rooms he did not say sorry to Regis, Clarus or Somnus. He went straight to Cor who looked as pissed off as he felt. They had a chat about the King and Shield’s prank and Ardyn told Cor he was going to help him get his own back on them. This hurt Ardyn. Regis said something ‘good may have come out of this’. Well he didn’t want it too. He didn’t want to watch Cor be happy with someone who wasn’t him. This was all down to jealousy and pettiness but Ardyn knew he had to say something. He didn’t want to see Cor with someone else.

Like the coward he was, he couldn’t bring himself to say it there and then.

He held off until two months after Cor’s 20th birthday. And the only reason why he acted then was because someone in the guard had shown an interest in Cor. And Ardyn was not going to let anything come out of it. Because he wanted to be with Cor.

And he hoped by some miracle, that Cor might actually feel the same about him.

He highly doubted but there was no harm in asking. 


	8. Will You Have Dinner With Me?

It was late.

Most of the servants had either gone home or gone to their rooms within the Citadel. There was only a hand full of the guard and glaive on patrol and the majority of that selective group were guarding Regis’s quarters and the entrances to the Citadel. Clarus had gone home for the night and Regis and Somnus were probably fast asleep by now. The only royal that ever found it difficult to sleep was Ardyn and he was very awake. For he had finally decided to do something about his feelings towards Cor and had made his way to the soldier’s apartment in the Citadel.

Ardyn stood a couple of feet away from the door for a while. Debating to himself if he should knock or not. Every time he plucked up enough courage to tap the door he soon recoiled his hand and began silently arguing with himself again. He was starting to get frustrated with himself. This was such a simple task, it wasn’t like he hadn’t done it before. Ardyn knew why he couldn’t do it though. He was nervous. The feeling felt foreign to him. Anything but extreme happiness, annoyance or anger confused him now. That was what two thousand years did to a person, it had desensitised both he and Somnus from a lot of things. Ardyn thought that being nervous was one of them. But from standing outside of Cor’s door he was proven wrong. Ardyn began tapping his fingers against his knuckles and thought it best to just leave. He didn’t want to wake Cor up, more than likely Cor had taken an early night because he had been helping the Marshal train the guard. Ardyn didn’t want to seem rude in any way. But there was a horrible thought that kept sneaking up on him. There was a particular member of the guard that Ardyn had caught checking Cor out whenever Cor helped trained the regiment that he was in. Ardyn’s jealousy spiked at the thought. He couldn’t lose Cor to that swine of a man. Given he didn’t know him, but… he didn’t care.

“Just do it.” Ardyn said to himself and without any further hesitation, he tapped on the door three times.

Ardyn felt himself tense up after moving his hand away from the door. This was a mistake. If he teleported back to his quarters, it would be like he was never there. What if Cor was mad because he had woken him up? Or what if he laughed at him for asking him out? Or maybe Ardyn was just acting stupid and there was no need to start panicking. For the love of the Six, he was the most powerful being to ever walk this earth and he was getting himself in a tizz over asking someone a simple question.

However, the choice of staying or going was now out of his control, for Cor had opened the door. To Ardyn’s relief, Cor still looked wide awake. Thank goodness he hadn’t woken him up, Ardyn would have felt awful if he had. 

“Ass Hat? Are you alright?” Cor questioned, a little confused as to why Ardyn was there.

Ardyn felt his throat tighten. He hadn’t done this in a couple of hundred years and he didn’t know what to say. Or if he should even say anything. In his confused state of mind, he answered Cor’s question but failed to explain why he had come to see him. “Yes, I am. Thank you for asking.” 

“Good… Is there any particular reason why you are here?”

_Shit. I actually have to do this now._

The nerves started to rush through his body and Ardyn couldn’t get the words out. What was Cor doing to him? Ardyn was never like this. Never this giddy or scatty. He always had an answer for everything, no matter who he was up against. He would never back down from an argument and claimed he was always right unless there was an undeniable piece of evidence that would prove him wrong. And even then he would still try to support his own theory. But hearing Cor ask that question, one if he answered it would make this task so much easier, he couldn’t win. He didn’t want to answer it.

“Just… I won’t be able to train you tomorrow. Somnus has managed to put me in a series of long boring meetings in his stead. I am afraid our session will have to be moved to Thursday. I wanted to make you aware of that and to see if that day suits you. I understand that the guard is taking up more of your time now.”

_Wow… I am that incompetent that I can’t express how I feel? I am so shit at this._

“Right. Yeah, that’s fine by me. You know, you could have just text me that instead of coming all the way down here.” Cor said leaning against the door. It was nice seeing Ardyn, and because the guard was taking up more of his time it meant they didn’t see each other as much as Cor would like.

Ardyn rolled his eyes and breathed out. “You youth and your technology. Perish the thought if someone dies. You will probably find it out by someone posting it all over the internet, instead of having an actual conversation with someone.”

“Alright, I get it. Same time as usual?” Cor laughed. 

“Certainly, I am not one to break tradition.”

“Is there anything else? You can come in if you want.”

Ardyn bit his lip. Cor had given him the perfect opportunity to pop the question, but his brain fought with him not to say a thing. It was probably the daemons not wanting to be made a fool of if Cor rejected the proposal, and today Ardyn decided it wasn’t worth fighting with them over this. It didn’t feel right asking him now. Ardyn wasn’t sure if it was ever going to feel right. Cor was one of Regis’s best friends after all and his nephew may find the situation a little weird. Not to mention awkward if Regis found out Ardyn had asked Cor and got rejected.

Yes… this was looking to be a bad idea.

Ardyn shook his head and put on a fake smile. “No, no. I have wasted too much of your time already. Goodnight Leonis.”

“Night Caelum.” Cor returned the smile and took a step back into his apartment.

Ardyn turned around and walked away. It felt wrong walking away, but it felt equally wrong staying. This was for the best. Nothing was expressed, and their friendship was still intact. There was no need to change it. Ardyn would just have to ensure that Cor was safe and happy from afar rather than by his side. That was the way it should be and how it should remain.

The sound of the door closing from behind him made his heart race and his brain sprung into action. Ardyn stopped and turned around to see that the door hadn’t fully closed. He raised his voice to ensure that Cor heard him: 

“Actually… There is something else.”

“Yeah?” Cor replied pulling the door open again. Ardyn didn’t reply to him, he just gave him a blank expression like he was deep in thought. Cor crossed his arms over his chest and leant against the door frame again. “Well, are you going to tell me or are we going to stand in the hallway all night?”

_Just say it you idiot. I haven’t really got anything to lose. But if I don’t say anything, that guard could potentially make Cor happy. I want to be the one to do that…_

Thinking about that guard, it made the question spew out of Ardyn’s mouth. And once he had said it he couldn’t take it back.

“Would you like to have dinner with me?”

“Dinner?”

“Yes. Dinner.” Ardyn paused for a moment and held his breath. “Like… like a date… Would you be interested in going on a date with me?”

Ardyn watched Cor’s face drop slightly. He had to fight the urge to close his eyes in embarrassment. He knew he shouldn’t have said a word. Now there was going to be a sense of awkwardness between them, for how ever long Cor lived for.

But Cor didn’t seem offended. He just followed Ardyn’s question up with more questions. “A date? You mean like now?”

“It doesn’t have to be now. It doesn’t have to be ever if you don’t want too. I thought I’d ask you anyway.”

Ardyn wanted to leave now. He was usually good at sensing and reading what people were feeling. But he couldn’t tell what Cor was feeling. He couldn’t tell if he was offended, flattered, amused or embarrassed. Ardyn was definitely the latter out of those four options. Because he didn’t want to appear that way he stayed there and waited for Cor to respond.

Cor remained silent for a bit and Ardyn took that as a sign that he had made a complete arse out of himself. But the words Cor spoke, was the polar opposite to what Ardyn was thinking.

“I’m free tomorrow night.”

“I’m sorry?” Ardyn asked in a surprised tone, thinking he had heard him wrong.

“I said: I’m free tomorrow night.”

“You want too? You actually want to go on a date with me?”

Cor let out a small laugh. “Here I thought you were clever. Yes, I would like to go on a date with you. Astrals you are dense sometimes.”

Ardyn let his body relax and he couldn’t believe that Cor had actually agreed to this. So many thoughts as to why he agreed raced around his head. Maybe Cor just agreed to save him the embarrassment? Or maybe he was being kind to him? But when Ardyn looked Cor in the eye he looked pleased. Ardyn’s external embarrassment started to fade and it was slowly getting replaced with the feeling of joy.

Ardyn suddenly remembered something. Cor hated public affection. Every time, Regis, Clarus, Wesk or Cid ruffled his hair he would act aggressively towards them. Ardyn didn’t want this to be an uncomfortable experience for Cor. He decided there and then to alter the plan, all he needed was Cor’s approval. 

“How about I make you dinner instead? I have a feeling you would probably prefer that than going out somewhere. Of course, that is entirely up to you.”

“You can cook, can you?” Cor smirked.

“You would have thought after living more than sixty-six generations I would have acquired that skill.”

“I’d like that.”

“Alright then. I’ll see you tomorrow. Say, my quarters at 7:30?”

“See you then. Night Ardyn.”

After Ardyn said goodnight, Cor closed the door and let go of a breath he had been holding since Ardyn asked him to have dinner. That didn’t just happen? Not even for a second did Cor ever think that Ardyn would consider looking at him in that way. And it made Cor feel unbelievably happy. Now he was glad that Ardyn had all those meetings tomorrow. It meant he had the whole day to compose himself and not look like a complete twat when 7:30 rolled around. Finally, he was doing something about his near three-year crush. Because Cor thought that Ardyn would find his crush humours Cor never said a word. Many people in the guard thought the entire royal family was attractive in some way or another but none of them ever had their feelings reciprocated. However, it would appear Ardyn did and he was sharing and expressing those feelings towards him….

* * *

The day went very smoothly for Cor. He spent an hour with Regis and Clarus and because it was his day off he went to one of Insomnia’s many shopping centers. He didn’t buy anything he was just killing time and avoiding accidentaly bumping into Ardyn. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to see him, he just wanted to compose himself and be prepared for this date. Cor had never dated anyone in his life. It never interested him but Ardyn did. He didn’t want to make a fool of himself when 7:30 came around. Because of Ardyn’s lack of mortality, he was going to be very experienced in the world of dating. Cor shook his head. He shouldn’t be putting all this pressure on himself. 

He returned back to the Citadel and remained in his apartment until 7:15. From there he wandered up to Ardyn’s quarters. Cor had never actually stepped foot in there before. Only Somnus and Regis ever went in there. It felt strange. When Cor arrived there, he noticed that no one was manning the doors.

That made sense.

He guessed the Accursed didn’t need protecting. At least, it meant they could keep this private for the time being. Cor really didn’t want Regis or Clarus making a big deal out of this. Cor tapped on the door and after a second it opened, and no one was there to greet him. Leaving Cor, a little hesitant to go in. But his hesitation faded when he heard Ardyn’s voice.

“Come on in, Cor.” 

Cor stepped into the room and the door closed itself behind him. Regis was not going to be impressed that Ardyn was using daemon magic. That was only if he was to find out though.

Cor looked around the room and it was completely different to every room he had been allowed to go in within the Citadel. This was the living part of the quarters and it contained about 15 bookcases that were filled to their capacity by many books. The wallpaper was dark green in colour and there didn’t seem to be any electrical devices insight. There were no lightbulbs either and the room was lightened by candles. There was also many ancient artefacts hanging on the walls and many other dotted in various places around the room. The four sofas were made of leather and on the coffee table sat more books. 

“Like the ascetic?” Ardyn questioned, from one of the side doors. 

“What century are you living in again?” Cor said, turning his attention to Ardyn. He looked very relaxed. The only reason why Cor noticed this was because he wasn’t wearing his fedora, his large trench coat or any of his many scarves. 

“Very funny. Regis says the same thing. Now, Cor if you would care to follow me.”

Cor did as he was told and was greeted to a dining table covered in food. Like the gentleman Ardyn was he pulled out Cor’s chair for him to sit on before even thinking about taking his own seat. Cor let out a small breath and sat down. He had no idea how these things were supposed to work he just hoped it went smoothly.

And it did.

And Cor discovered that Ardyn was a bloody good cook.

The pair talked and laughed as they normally would, but this time some casual flirting was dropped into conversation. The majority of the flirting was carried out by Ardyn and at first, Cor didn’t really know how to respond or react but Ardyn didn’t comment on it. By the end of their meal, Cor started to join in and found himself enjoying Ardyn’s company more by the minute. It probably helped that Ardyn was expressing how relaxed he could be. Because it proved to Cor that Ardyn had a very clear level of respect and trust for him. Which in turn allowed Cor to relax.

The pair made their way into the living room and sat on the sofa’s and continued their date in there until it got to midnight. There was one question that Cor hadn’t asked yet, and he was determined to get the answer before he left. 

“So… Why did you ask me out on a date?” Cor said, holding an empty whiskey glass. Also, Ardyn had a very good taste in alcohol.

Ardyn laughed, being careful not to spill any wine that remained in his glass. “You called me dense? Why does anyone ask anyone out on a date?”

“Maybe I want to hear you say it.” Cor smirked.

“Okay. Over the years I have grown rather fond of you and I decided to do something about it.”

“I am glad you did. I have really enjoyed tonight. Thank you.”

“No, thank you for accepting. I honestly thought you weren’t going too.” Ardyn admitted, hiding what was left of his embarrassment by sipping his wine. 

“In your words Ass Hat. I have also grown ‘fond’ of you.”

“So, I didn’t make a complete arse of myself?”

“Not at all.”

* * *

They decided to have a second date after that, but for the time being they wanted to keep this to themselves. Cor and Ardyn weren’t really sure what this was yet. They had both accepted and admitted feelings for each other, but it needed time to grow. They had to get used to the idea of considering to have a relationship before Regis, Clarus or Somnus found out. Because if any one of them discovered what was going on, it would get messy and all three of them would start to poke their nose in where it wasn’t wanted.

To avoid that Cor had a brilliant idea for their third date. 

“The training hall? This is your idea of a date?”

“Has anyone ever taken me for the dating type?” Cor shrugged his shoulders summoning his katana.

“Guess not.” Ardyn said watching him getting into his fighting stance. Well… he was mostly looking at Cor’s arse but because Somnus didn’t train with them anymore, he didn’t hide what he was doing.

“Come on Caelum let’s see if I can knock your arse into the dirt.”

“Oh, you really know how to make someone feel special, don’t you?”

* * *

“You are a pompous traditionalist; do you know that? I can walk back to my apartment by myself, I am not an invalid.”

“With a name like ‘Cor the Immortal’, I didn’t think you were.”

It had been ten days since they first started dating. And it always brought the pair joy when they spent time together, but it hurt when it ended, and they had to go back pretending that there was nothing going on. That was why Ardyn insisted on accompanying Cor back to his apartment this time. He didn’t want the night to end. They both felt very comfortable being around each other now that they ended up revealing more about their pasts than they had ever shared with anyone else before. It was nice being able to share things with one another. Even if the date was just sitting in Ardyn’s quarters, having a few drinks and talking, it was one that they had enjoyed the most. 

“Don’t start calling me that again Ass Hat.”

“You survived a fight with Gilgamesh. For that, you have earnt my complete and utter respect.”

“Thanks.” Cor rolled his eyes, putting the key in the lock. Like Ardyn, he didn’t want to be the one to end the lovely evening they had shared. But one of them had to do it. “I better get going. Training the guard means fucking 5 am drills again.”

“Oh, I would hate to have your job.” Ardyn chuckled, making one last attempt to carry on the conversation.

“I would take being a commanding officer of the Crownsguard, over being the King’s advisor any day.”

“Advising would not suit you, my dear.”

“I know. Night Ardyn.” Cor opened the door but he didn’t go through.

He left the key in the lock and decided he was going to take their relationship a step further. They hadn’t kissed yet. There was the odd touching here and there but nothing like that. Cor knew Ardyn was holding back because he was being a gentleman. But Cor could no longer contain his desires or hold the reckless side of him back. He bit the bullet, quickly wrapping his arms around Ardyn’s neck and forced their lips together. Ardyn smiled and gladly kissed him back pulling Cor closer towards him by his jacket.

The kiss lasted a little longer than Cor had originally anticipated but neither of them seemed to care. When Cor did pull away he left his hands on Ardyn’s neck and rest his forehead against the mess of a royal’s. 

Cor wasn’t sure if it was too soon, or if they were even ready for what Cor wanted. But he asked it anyway. “Do you want to come inside?”

Ardyn smiled, moving back to get a better look at Cor’s eyes. Ardyn placed a hand on Cor’s cheek and spoke softly. “Cor Leonis I would love too. However, if we are going to do this, I want to do this with you properly. When we figure out exactly what this is then I will be more than happy to take you up on your offer.”

“Alright, I’ll hold you to that.” Cor nodded. Ardyn was probably right, they shouldn’t rush into things.

“I have no doubt you will. Goodnight Cor.” Ardyn kissed Cor one last time before turning to leave.

Cor watched Ardyn walk away and went into his apartment closing the door. Cor let a smile spread across his face and went to the kitchen to make himself a coffee. He should probably be trying to get some sleep, but he felt like he was on a high from that kiss. He was a little disappointed that nothing more happened, but this would do for now. Cor had noticed a change in Ardyn since they had started dating, he was definitely happier. Which in turn made Cor happy. He just hoped that things turned out okay and he didn’t do anything to mess this up.

Cor got his coffee and was about to sit down when he heard a knock at the door.

Knock. Knock.

Cor raised his eyebrow and opened the door, only to see Ardyn standing outside. Cor didn’t get a chance to ask if anything was the matter. Ardyn stepped into his apartment and closed the door behind him. 

Their eyes connected and Ardyn said exactly what Cor wanted to hear. “Screw doing this properly?”

“Fuck yes!”


	9. You Drive Me Crazy

“So…”

“So…?”

“Who are you courting?” Somnus asked, taking Ardyn’s Queen with his Bishop.

Ardyn stared at Somnus with a hint of hatred. That was mainly because Somnus had just taken his last powerful chess piece, but also because Somnus had somehow become privy to that information. Ardyn hadn’t told him, and he was certain Cor hadn’t either. And to ensure that no one was aware of what was going on they were trying to be careful, and never made it obvious when they spoke to each other in front of anyone. How, in the hope of the Six’s death, did Somnus figure that one out? At least he didn’t know who it was. That was something. Ardyn also had noticed that Somnus had been asking a lot of weird questions, that was catching him off guard, throughout this match and each time he did, Somnus would manage to take one of Ardyn’s pieces. He was going to have to watch out for that tactic in the future because it was extremely effective.

“I beg your pardon?” Ardyn responded with a little venom.

“You’re courting someone. Don’t give me that face. I know, I’m not stupid.”

“Really? You could have fooled me.” Ardyn laughed as he took his turn.

“Ardyn. We have been alive for over 2000 years, I think I know you pretty well by now.”

“Yes, like I know you are an asshole.” Ardyn gave his brother a toothy grin, just to annoy him.

Ardyn just hoped this game ended soon, he would even throw the match if it meant he could leave. Somnus was starting to get on his nerves and Ardyn was meant to be in his quarters in half an hour. For he and Cor had planned to spend the evening together but Somnus’s curiosity and awful timing may prevent that. Ardyn would not be happy at all if Somnus limited his time with Cor. 

Somnus rolled his eyes and moved one of his knights. “So are you.”

“That is nearly as bad as ‘I know you are, but what am I?’ and the answer to that question is; you’re an asshole.”

“Despite me being an asshole, I know when you are getting involved with someone. You do two things, which are; become happier in yourself and you grow nastier towards me. At the moment you are doing both of those things.”

He had to give Somnus that, and Ardyn was quite impressed of how insightful his brother was being. Ardyn had been a lot nastier towards Somnus. For example, he would purposely question him in front of the council during meetings to make him look like an idiot, avoid him, call him unspeakable things for no reason and snap at him. However, as much as Ardyn was impressed with how Somnus had managed to figure it out, Somnus was also incredibly stupid. If Somnus was that interested in him, the Founder King would have noticed that Ardyn was only snapping at him when Somnus went near Cor or when Cor came up in conversation. But Ardyn wasn’t going to let Somnus figure this out. He rather enjoyed knowing something that Somnus didn’t because it wound him up.

Ardyn let out a hollow laugh as he moved a pawn across the board. “Oh, so you actually care about me enough to know when I am happy.”

“You’re not giving me an answer.” Somnus said, purposely avoiding the statement that had come out of Ardyn’s mouth.

“I wasn’t aware I had to.”

“So, you are?”

Ardyn looked up and poked Somnus on the nose. “That’s for me to know and for you to keep your nose out.”

Somnus moved backwards, away from his brother’s touch. When was Ardyn ever going to grow up? Sometimes it was funny, especially when it annoyed people the pair hated. Other times it really wasn’t. All Somnus wanted to do was have an adult conversation with Ardyn but the Accursed was not planning on giving him one today. And to better Ardyn’s childish behaviour, Somnus acted nice towards him, just to freak his older brother out.

“I am only looking out for my big brother.”

“The day you do that is the day we finally get our eternal rest.”

“I hate you too.” Somnus shook his head moving his Queen so it was in line with Ardyn’s King. “Checkmate.”

Ardyn let go a smile and left without helping Somnus pack their chess set up. Somnus played that game very well. But Ardyn hadn’t been interested in that match at all, he was more interested in seeing Cor. 

* * *

Cor’s face screwed up when he felt something incredibly cold brush over his forehead. He opened his eyes to find Ardyn staring down at him, whilst running a hand along the lining of his hair. After the first time they slept together, Ardyn explained that he didn’t have any circulation anymore meaning that his skin was always going to be freezing cold. Just one of the many ‘delights’ of being a daemon. Cor knew he was going to have to get used to it. Sometimes Ardyn’s icy touch took him by surprise, like today. But it didn’t help that he was asleep and Ardyn had purposely done that to wake him up.

“Good morning, my dear.” Ardyn whispered, continuing to stroke his forehead.

Cor rubbed his eyes and sat up. “What time is it?”

“4:00 am. Which gives you enough time to get up, have a shower and get to the guard training hall all before 5 o’clock. And so you don’t have to rush, you are more than welcomed to use my bathroom.”

Cor looked around and realised that he was still in Ardyn’s bed. Shit. They had never actually fallen asleep in the same bed together before. They had only been doing this for a month and a half now and falling asleep in Ardyn’s bed made Cor feel very uncomfortable. Not uncomfortable in the sense it was a bad thing, he just felt that they weren’t ready for that yet, and that Cor had stepped the mark a bit. Because of that Cor always left Ardyn’s quarters no matter the time. But last night he was too exhausted, and he thought he had only closed his eyes for a second.

“I didn’t mean to fall asleep. Sorry.”

Ardyn let out a small laugh, before kissing Cor. “Do not worry yourself in the slightest. I am just glad to know you can actually rest when needed.”

Ardyn didn’t have a problem with Cor sleeping in his bed. It made Ardyn happy that they had spent more time together, even if they were both asleep. He enjoyed waking up seeing Cor next to him. Ardyn liked the idea that in the future this was going to happen again. Waking up next to Cor, it made him feel safe. 

Cor nodded at Ardyn’s words and got out of bed, making his way towards the bathroom. “Hey, Ass Hat. Do you want to join me?”

“You can definitely sleep in my bed again if you are going to offer that.”

* * *

Training with Ardyn was now starting to wind Cor up.

For the past two months, Cor had notice that Ardyn was taking it easy on him. It was because Ardyn didn’t want to accidently cause Cor any harm, but man was it annoying. Ardyn was training him so he could better himself. He didn’t want or need to be pussyfooted around. If Ardyn was going to continue to act like this, Cor was just going to ask Somnus to train him instead. He didn’t know how Ardyn was going to take that, but Cor seriously didn’t care.

And one day to prove to Ardyn that he shouldn’t be going easy on him, Cor took the opportunity to floor the Accursed. The strike was perfectly executed and Ardyn didn’t see what had hit him. However, there was a slight flaw in the plan. After knocking Ardyn on his back Cor tripped over the weapon Ardyn had dropped and he landed directly on top of him. 

“Ow!” Ardyn breathed in sharply, as Cor’s knee went into the lower part of his stomach. 

“Sorry.” Cor said, removing his knee and shuffling himself so that his and Ardyn’s faces were in line with each other.

Ardyn smiled and placed a hand through Cor’s hair, stroking it gently. “Not to worry. I am certain you haven’t caused me any damage that is life-threatening.”

“That’s a terrible joke.” Cor said plainly.

“I could always tell a worse one.”

“No don’t.” Cor shook his head in desperation.

He recently discovered that Ardyn loved to tell ‘dad’ jokes and he was getting fed up with it. It was starting to drive him a little crazy, but when he told Ardyn that, the number of jokes only intensified. Ardyn opened his mouth like he was about to tell another one, but Cor didn’t let that happen. He quickly lowered his face down and kissed Ardyn to shut him up. Thankfully it worked. And it worked a little too well. Ardyn smiled and placed both of his hands on Cor’s hips as they continued to kiss. He began to lightly massage Cor as their kiss got a little more heated. Ardyn was not planning on doing any more training today because kissing Cor was so much more appealing. Cor got a little lost in the moment too. He pulled at Ardyn’s hair and placed more pressure on their lips. He didn’t mind not training either. To get in a more comfortable position Cor shuffled himself on top of Ardyn.

The movement on top of him forced Ardyn to break the kiss. No matter how much he would love for it to continue, Cor was starting to turn him on. And Somnus would not be too happy if they did that in his training hall. 

“What are you doing to me Cor Leonis?” Ardyn asked, moving his hands from Cor’s hips to his arse, giving it a light squeeze.

“At the moment I am sitting on your pelvis.”

“Cheeky.”

Cor smirked and tried to stand up but was stopped by Ardyn who had decided that he didn’t want to let him up. The grip on his arse had become tighter and Cor noticed that Ardyn had developed a devilish smirk on his face.

Cor shook his head, remaining where he was. “You’re the one who said you didn’t want your brother finding out. Let me get up.”

“He’s not going to come in here.” Ardyn said. He was only doing this to annoy Cor. By the looks of it, it was working. He had no idea why Cor was still putting up with his childish behaviour, but he wasn’t going to question him on it.

“It’s his private training area.”

“And he’s a lazy bastard who never uses it.”

“And you’re a cocky one. Let me up.”

“Certainly, but you have to give me a kiss first.” Ardyn sang rubbing his hands on Cor.

“You are needy.” _And clingy_. But Cor didn’t say the last part. He thought that might have been a little too savage for Ardyn to take. 

“And your point is?”

“Fine.” Cor said, lowering his face again to briefly catch Ardyn’s lips with his own. If the royal pain in the arse wanted to be a nuisance, Cor was going to be just as infuriating towards him. “There, happy?”

“You have no idea.”

Ardyn finally let Cor go just in the nick of time. After Cor had gotten to his feet Somnus wandered into the training hall and kicked the pair out. They left very quickly and decided that they were now going to be more careful. Still no one knew what was going on. It wouldn’t really matter if anyone found out, but it was nice and exciting to keep this a secret. For one no one was poking their noses into their relationship and it was funny to listen to Somnus when he guessed at who’s Ardyn’s lover might be. Because Somnus just had to tell Regis, the King started to join in on the guessing game.

The pair of them were guessing away as far from the truth as they possibly could. Neither Cor nor Ardyn had a problem with that.

* * *

Cor felt like ripping his hair out and he could not believe he was currently having an argument with Regis, Clarus and Wesk in the middle of the hallway, about his sex life. Anyone could walk by and there was nothing Cor could do to prevent that from happening. Every time Cor tried to stop the conversation or suggest they go into a private room for his dignity’s sake, the trio shot him down and continued to give advice, that really wasn’t needed. This entire conversation wasn’t needed. When Cor noticed that a member of the glaive had walked passed and started to snigger he shouted at them.

“Can all three of you just fuck off!”

“It will take you the minimum of an hour.” Regis explained crossing his arms over his chest.

Since Cor’s first blind dating experience the soldier had refused to go on another. But Regis wanted Cor to be happy. He wanted him to meet someone and not have his life consumed by this war. Cor had already given 7 years of his life to the crown, and Regis just wanted him to have a break of some description or loosen up a bit. So, like the lovely big brother he was, he had set him up on another date.

And to Cor’s discomfort, Clarus was siding with Regis. “You never know Cor you might enjoy it.”

No, he wouldn’t enjoy it. And Cor knew for a fact if Ardyn found out what Regis had done there was going to be fireworks. Over the past three months Ardyn had definitely become more protective over him and one-time Cor notice that someone was checking him out, but so did Ardyn. And it did not end well. Meaning that Cor had to put this subject to rest now. Before someone got hurt. That person being Regis.

“No, I won’t. Come on Wesk, why are you helping these idiots out and not taking my side?” Cor said, in a pretend hurt voice. Wesk and Cid favoured him over the King and Shield, so he didn’t understand why Wesk was being a pillock. 

Cor didn’t like the reply that Wesk gave him. “Because Cor I think this will do you some good. It will give you better people skills. And get you to understand emotions better.”

“I hate all of you. I wish Cid was here.”

“Stop sulking and just accept it already.” Clarus snorted hitting Cor on the back.

Like Regis, Clarus thought Cor needed something stable in his life. He didn’t care if dating wasn’t Cor’s thing. He had to at least try and step out of his comfort zone every once in a while. Clarus had seen Cor butcher a man on the battlefield, and yet he couldn’t handle going on a date with someone.

“I don’t have to do anything if I don’t want to.” Cor whined. This was fucking great. Not only was he getting pushed into a corner, but he was also acting like a teenager.

“No, you don’t have too. But it won’t hurt you to try.” Wesk encouraged, trying a different approach.

All Cor did was shrug his shoulders. He was not, repeat, not going on a date with anyone that wasn’t Ardyn. He wouldn’t do that to Ardyn either. They had only started seeing each other three months ago but this was one thing Cor knew he wasn’t about to ruin. He was not letting that annoying daemon go, no matter the cost.

Regis clapped his hands together and spoke in a frustrated voice. “You don’t have to go on another one with him. I just want you to help yourself and try it out.” Cor was about to argue back but he noticed Regis’s face light up and he shouted down the hall at someone. “Ardyn! Come here!”

_Fuck…._

This was not going to end well. 

“Yes, Reggie.” Ardyn said walking carelessly towards the group. Somnus had done his head in and he was ready to skin his little brother alive. Somnus had annoyed him that much that Ardyn wanted to go to bed. He wanted the day to be over and it was only three in the afternoon. Regis better of had a good reason for calling him over. 

“Please tell Cor that it won’t hurt him to go on a date with someone.”

Ardyn’s heart skipped a beat and he quickly turned to Cor with hurt plastering his eyes.

“I don’t want any part in this, they are pushing me into it.” Cor said quickly, reassuring Ardyn he had nothing to do with this, whilst trying to cover up the fact he was attempting to calm Ardyn down.

Ardyn closed his eyes briefly in relief. And that relief was soon washed away with a little rage. This was the thing with Kings, no matter how much Ardyn loved his nephews and nieces when they took over the throne they suddenly found a way to get under his skin very easily. Ardyn just hoped that Regis wasn’t going to say another word on Cor going on a date. Because he was about to blow. 

“Don’t push people Regis.” Ardyn gritted his teeth together, preventing himself from snapping. 

“We just want you to be happy Cor.” Wesk commented.

“I am happy, thank you! I am very happy at the moment and I don’t need any of you poking around in my personal life. So, drop it.” Cor said having enough and storming off.

“Oh, come on Cor!” Clarus called after him, but Cor didn’t turn around.

“Cor!” Regis tried, but Cor had already exited the hall.

Ardyn wanted to follow Cor to see if he was alright, but also ask if he meant what he said. However, that was going to have to be put on a hold for a moment and Ardyn was going to have to come up with an excuse to leave. He looked at Regis and calmed himself down. Regis had suddenly dropped from being his favourite nephew to being his 20th. That King was going to have to do a lot to earn his spot back.

“Leave him alone. Remember what happened last time you two stuck your noses in. So stop it. Anyway, where is your Grandfather? I need to have a word with him.” Ardyn asked, knowing exactly where Somnus was. But it was a good cover-up, so he could leave and follow Cor.

“Asleep?”

“I shouldn’t be surprised by that.” Ardyn sighed and left quickly.

* * *

Ardyn went to his quarters to find Cor standing outside of them. They both went into his rooms and Cor decided it best he say sorry on Regis’s behalf.

“Sorry about them.”

“You don’t need to apologise. Regis can be a little twat when he wants to be. But… I must ask, and you need to answer me truthfully. Do I really make you happy? You weren’t just saying that to get rid of them? I wouldn’t be offended if that was the case, I just want to know.”

Ardyn didn’t know if he wanted the answer to that. One part of him did. He wanted to know that he was making Cor happy because Wesk was right. Cor did deserve to be happy. But the other part of him wanted him to say no. Because Ardyn knew for a fact, no matter what happened, Cor was going to die one day. And if the chosen wasn’t born in Cor’s lifetime he was going to have to watch it happen. Ardyn didn’t know if he would be able to do that. Maybe if they called this off now it wouldn’t hurt as much.

To Ardyn’s delight or dismay, Cor answered his question. “I wouldn’t have said it if you didn’t. You do make me very happy Ardyn.”

“You make me happy too.” Ardyn admitted. Pushing all his negative thoughts back for another day.


	10. I Missed You

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone who has been reading, left kudos and commenting, it means so much. 
> 
> I love writing for the series so much!! This story is over now, but there is plenty more to come.
> 
> Hope you all enjoy the final chapter :)

Cor tilted his head back when he felt Ardyn scrape his nails along his scalp. He loved it when Ardyn did this. Cor felt so relaxed that he could fall asleep, but he wasn’t going to allow himself too. In less than nine hours he had to leave Insomnia, to ransack a Niff base that had settled on the outskirts of the Cleigne Region and this time he was leading the operation. For the next six hours, Cor decided that he would spend it with Ardyn and His Grace got very clingy. It was a little suffocating, but it was the last chance they were going to get to see each other before Cor left, so he didn’t mind as much as he usually would have.

“I am going to miss you.” Ardyn gave him a weak smile before gently placing his lips on Cor’s neck. 

“Quit whining. I’ll be back in a fortnight.” Cor muttered, still enjoying his head being scratched.

“That’s a whole 14 days.” Ardyn continued to whine, completely ignoring Cor.

Ardyn stopped scratching Cor’s head and wrapped both of his arms around Cor, burying his face into his neck. He did not want to let him go. He knew how reckless Cor could be and in the past, it only slightly worried him when he left. But with the current feelings the pair shared for each other, Ardyn was already starting to over worry. Deep down, he knew Cor was going to be okay. The man had walked out of a lot of many sticky situations, most of the time, unscathed. 

Cor laughed and hugged him back. “You are too clingy.” 

“You are reckless at the best of times and if you are leading the group you need to be able to make decisions that will ensure the safety of everyone, not just yourself. There is only one ‘Cor the Immortal’, not everyone is as lucky or skilled as you are. Just be careful.” Ardyn didn’t care if he was lecturing him. All he wanted was for Cor to come back in one piece. 

“I will, I promise. But if you are going to get like this every time I leave I won’t come to say goodbye in future.”

“Now that is plain cruel.”

When the six hours were up Cor left and Ardyn sat alone in his quarters for a while. He got a bouncy ball from out of his armiger and started throwing it around the room to distract himself. He smashed a few things, by accident, and the novelty of throwing the ball soon wore off. Knowing he could no longer fight his urges, he went to the balcony and waited until he saw the guard leaving. Cor wouldn’t be able to see him from way up here but that didn’t matter to Ardyn. He was just happy that he got to see him leave. Even if it was from a distance.

* * *

Cor had left a week ago and Ardyn was missing him like crazy.

Every day, since they had started dating, Ardyn had made the effort to go and see Cor. If Ardyn wasn’t playing chess with Somnus, working, or spending time with Regis he would be with Cor. Now, because the soldier wasn’t here he was at a loss of what to do. Over the years, the concept of free time had become a curse to the immortal being. Ardyn just got bored so quickly and he became rather irritating when this happened. He mostly annoyed Somnus and then they got into fights. And Cor had become the person who got him out of trouble as they would spend Ardyn’s free time together. But Cor wasn’t here. Instead of being a child and going back into his annoying habits he decided to exclude himself from everyone else until Cor got back. That way he wasn’t getting into pointless fights with his brother and Regis wouldn’t get cross at the pair.

Despite this decision being a sensible one, it caused Regis and Somnus to grow worried over his behaviour. So much so that the pair were going out of their way to ensure he was alright. He was perfectly fine. Other than the fact he missed Cor so much it was beginning to hurt him.

One evening, Ardyn was sitting quietly in his quarters reading a book and drinking a glass of wine when Regis decided to pay him a visit.

The young King tapped the door and walked in with a warm smile spread across his face. “Uncle Ardyn, I am making you aware of the time. Dinner is ready.”

“I am not hungry thank you.” Ardyn turned the page and continued reading.

That made Regis frown. Ardyn hadn’t been eating with him, Aulea and Somnus for the past few days now. Which was odd. Ever since Regis could remember, Ardyn always encouraged the family to eat together. Sometimes, when his father couldn’t be bothered to see them and Somnus had fallen asleep it would just be the two of them. Because of that Regis would have thought, even if he wasn’t hungry, his uncle would have at least made the effort to sit with them.

Maybe whatever was troubling Ardyn was more serious then he and Somnus had originally thought.

“Aulea wants you to eat something.”

“I am an immortal daemon, I don’t need to eat.” Ardyn replied not looking up from his book.

“I don’t think she cares.” Regis laughed, but Ardyn didn’t. _Okay…_ Regis rubbed the back of his neck and decided that he could no longer ignore his uncle’s strange behaviour. He wanted to get to the bottom of this. Regis closed the door and sat on the sofa opposite Ardyn. “Has Somnus pissed you off again?”

Ardyn sighed and took a sip of wine. “Not today. Why?”

“Because you don’t seem to be with it at the moment and, when hasn’t Somnus annoyed you.” Regis’s statement was followed with silence, causing Regis to think there could be another reason why Ardyn was blanking him. “Did I do something to piss you off?”

“What?” Ardyn asked finally looking up at his nephew.

“You have been very short with me recently. I am sorry if I upset you. I don’t like it when you are cross with me.”

Now Ardyn felt guilty about moving Regis down his list. Regis looked rather worried and upset. Ardyn closed the book and gave Regis a small smile. Yes, the King did upset him, and Regis didn’t know and wasn’t going to know the reason behind it. If Ardyn thought about it, it wasn’t really his fault. Regis wasn’t to know that he was involved with one of his best friends... When he said it liked that it sounded a little weird… Ardyn pushed that thought back because Regis wasn’t the reason why he was behaving like this and the King shouldn’t be blaming himself for it. Ardyn just missed Cor. That was all. Regis was probably missing him too. 

Ardyn shook his head. “I was cross at you. But I have to learn to get over myself. Before you ask why I really can’t be having this conversation with you today. Just know that it is forgotten now.”

“There you two are! Come on Somnus is getting impatient.” Aulea’s voice filtered into the air as she walked in.

Regis’s worried face soon vanished, and now it was filled with nothing but contempt. It was clear to see how much Regis loved Aulea. He had even postponed their wedding until next year because it had always been her dream to get married on 21st January. Regis would do anything for his future Queen, and Ardyn was so grateful to her for making his nephew happy. Aulea had always been a lovely person. Always bright and bubbly, and was one of the only people who could actually get Regis out of bed. Ardyn remembered the first day Regis mentioned her to him. The King must have been about… 7 or 8 at the time, but Ardyn would never forget the amount of respect that Regis held in his voice for her and how fondly he spoke of his new friend. He was glad to see that, that fondness hadn’t altered one bit over the years. It had only strengthened as did the respect and love Regis had for Aulea.

Deciding he didn’t want to fight with Regis anymore Ardyn stood up and agreed to have dinner with them. “Hello, my dear. We were just on our way.”

“Good. Before any of you, Caelum’s complain, you are all eating your vegetables tonight whether you like it or not.” Aulea smiled crossing her arms in pride as Regis made his way over to her.

When he reached her, he kissed her on the cheek before asking: “Why?”

“Because of your health Regis.”

“Mine and Somnus’s health isn’t really of any importance.” Ardyn shrugged his shoulder’s picking up his bottle of wine and glass. He hadn’t lied to Regis when he said he wasn’t hungry. Ardyn was just going to drink wine instead. Also, it meant he would get out of eating vegetables.

Ardyn went to walk passed Aulea and as he did, the future Queen of Lucis confiscated the wine and glass from him. “Think again Ardyn. When Regis and I have children, they are going to look up to you and Somnus. You need to set an example. You can do that by eating veg. Come along, the food is getting cold.”

Aulea left with the items in her hands. Making it clear that they were both going to eat healthy tonight.

Ardyn laughed and playfully patted Regis on the back. “She is going to give you a run for your money.”

“What do you mean ‘give’?”

* * *

Only three more days to go. That was what Ardyn kept telling himself. Three more days before Cor returned. And Ardyn could not wait. Because Ardyn realised what a short period of time that was, he found a new burst of energy and was no longer cooping himself up in his quarters or office. With a spring in his step, he whistled down the hallway and was making his way up to the roof to look at the stars. He should take Cor up there one day. Cor may not appreciate it as much as he did. That didn’t matter. What mattered was, they were going to be spending time together again. 

Ardyn turned the corner and within a second his good mood was ruined.

“Oh, what do you want?”

“Answers.” Somnus replied, standing in front of the door that led up to the roof.

“Fine. Yes, I did purposely put a red sock in with your white bed sheets the other day.” Ardyn admitted, thinking that was what his brother meant. It was a bit harsh but very funny.

Somnus huffed. “We can fight about that later. I want to know why you haven’t slept in a few days.”

Somnus was starting to freak him out now. He was being weirdly observant over his behaviour.

No, he hadn’t been sleeping. Ardyn was too excited of the thought of Cor returning to fall asleep. Also… he was a tad concerned. Clarus hadn’t really heard much from Cor since he left and no one had any idea if the mission had turned out successful or not. All they knew was that there were no fatalities. Just a few minor injurious. Which deeply worried Ardyn as there was no doubt in his mind that Cor had done something reckless. Because he wasn’t sleeping he got bored and would wander around the Citadel at night. Ardyn didn’t know what he should be warier off. The fact that Somnus was, seemingly, worried about him, or that he was actually awake past 10 pm to know Ardyn had been doing that. 

“You do know I don’t actually need to sleep.” Ardyn said, ignoring the concern from his brother.

“Ardyn, you’re worried about something.”

“What if I am. It’s really no concern of yours.”

“Sometimes, I genuinely want to help you.”

“Other times you don’t. Can this be one of those other times please.” Ardyn gritted his teeth pushing Somnus out of the way, so he could open the door and proceed to climb the stairs. He began to make his ascent and Somnus’s voice followed him.

“Does this have to do with the person you are currently involved with?”

Having enough of Somnus, Ardyn turned around and bit his head off. “Just… can you leave? Go have a nap. Or go and burn a couple of hundred people to make yourself feel better.”

“You really want to have an argument with me today, don’t you?” Somnus replied narrowing his eyes. Ardyn was starting to get on Somnus’s bad side again. It would not end well for the Accursed if he carried on.

“No, I want you to leave.”

“I am not even going to bother to help you in the future.” Somnus said before turning around and making his way back down the stairs.

“Lucky me.” 

* * *

“Come in.”

Ardyn said putting his pen on the desk, a little harder then he had intended. He was upset today. Cor had returned but he hadn’t gotten a chance to see him. Cor had to fill out a report for the Marshal and then was instructed to find Regis and inform him if the mission had been successful or not. Ardyn was hoping to see Cor afterwards, but it was getting late now. It 23:58 to be précised. Ardyn thought it was extremely likely that Cor had just gone to bed. Ardyn didn’t blame him if he had. 

But when he looked up from his desk he was left pleasantly surprised. 

“Hey, Caelum.” Cor smiled walking over to him.

“Cor.” Ardyn smiled back and noticed how exhausted Cor looked. The protectiveness started to kick in and Ardyn turned into a fusspot. “I hope your mission went well.”

“Yeah, as well as expected. I am tired though.” Cor stood beside Ardyn and leant up against the desk.

“Oh, you poor dear.” Ardyn cooed rising from his chair and cupping Cor’s face with his hand to express his sympathies. 

“Don’t smother me Ass Hat.” Cor said batting his hand away. 

“Can’t I show you how much I have missed you?” Ardyn said resting his hand against Cor’s cheek again. Only this time Cor didn’t react. He just rolled his eyes instead.

“I know how much you have missed me, you don’t need to show me.”

“But I want too.”

“Just because you are a Prince, it doesn’t mean you get whatever you want.”

“True. But I have really missed you my dear. I just want to give you a welcome home gift.” Ardyn smirked with a twinkle in his eye.

“In that case…” Cor trailed off bashing his lips against Ardyn’s.

Ardyn smiled with delight and placed a hand on the back of Cor’s neck and the other around his waist. He lifted him up with ease and placed Cor on top of his desk and not once did their lips unlock. In turn, Cor intertwined both of his hands into Ardyn’s thick hair and pulled him closer. The tiredness Cor had felt was suddenly gone and was turned into passion as he continued to kiss Ardyn harder. Ardyn growled and moved both of his hands to Cor’s hips, devouring Cor’s lips with his own as he forced their bodies to come into contact with each other.

Eventually, Cor pulled away, both of his hands were still tangled in Ardyn’s red mane and said breathlessly. “I missed you too Ardyn.”

Ardyn smiled and went straight for Cor’s neck with his teeth. He bit and licked at his skin forcing Cor to let out a small grunt. The younger man wrapped his legs around his partner and pulled him closer. Only their clothes prevented their skin from touching, and Ardyn got a little carried away. With one of his arms he hit everything off of his desk in a single swipe and with the other hand he pushed Cor down, so he was lying flat on the wood. Ardyn laughed into Cor’s exposed neck when he heard him swear at him. He soon went back to biting and kissing at Cor’s neck. Cor grabbed the back of Ardyn’s neck and forced the man’s face further into his skin. Taking that as an invitation Ardyn started to nibble a little harder. A little too hard.

“Careful!” Cor grunted, recoiling away. That stung. He hadn’t intended that to happen. 

Ardyn laughed, gently kissing his bruised skin. Ardyn shifted his head away from his neck and locked his eyes with Cor’s. “I would never hurt you, my love.”

Ardyn smiled and captured Cor’s lips with his own again. Their kiss got more passionate when Cor licked the bottom of Ardyn’s mouth begging for entrance. They battled for dominance, bashing their teeth together and swirling their tongue’s around each other’s. Their hands were also in a frenzy. Desperately trying to pull at each other’s clothes, hair and arms just so they could mash their bodies closer together. They had been starved from each other’s touch for a few weeks and neither wanted to be the first to let go. 

They continued to enjoy the pleasure of each other’s company, mouths locked, and hands gripped on to each other until they heard the door open. Upon hearing the sound, the pair immediately stopped.

Ardyn, with one hand on Cor’s hip and the other clinging on to his short brown hair, snapped his head up to see who had just come in. No one walked into his office without knocking. He was going to screa-

_Shit!_

Golden eyes met blue ones and the Founder King could do nothing but stare at his brother in confusion. 

“Ummm… I’m going to... go.” Somnus nervously said, pointing towards the door.

Ardyn phased off of Cor and warped to the door, slamming it shut before Somnus could walkout. He hated this about Somnus. Why couldn’t he just be like any normal decent person and knock before entering a room, more importantly, Ardyn’s rooms. It didn’t matter if it was Ardyn’s office or quarters, Somnus would just wander in. Now, the raven-haired royal had made his brother incredibly angry.

Ardyn’s voice turned dark and he pointed at Somnus and spoke with nothing but aggression. “No, you are not. Not until you make me believe you are going to keep your mouth shut.” 

“You don’t trust a word that I say.” Somnus sigh, wanting to leave as soon as possible.

“Not looking good for you then is it?”

“Grow up Ardyn. Do you think Regis wants to know that you are shagging one of his best friends? Probably not.”

“Won’t stop you from saying anything though, will it.” Ardyn could hear his voice getting more aggressive by the second. Because he knew exactly what Somnus was like. He knew for certain that this revelation would go straight to Regis. 

“Trust me, brother. Right, there is none between us. Whatever, I don’t really care. Honestly, you two do whatever you want, just keep the door locked next time.” Somnus said trying to get passed Ardyn but he wasn’t moving.

“Sorry.” Cor said from the other side of the room.

His hair and clothes were now straightened and for the first time in a long time, Cor had turned a light shade of red. It was one thing getting caught, but it was a completely different kettle of fish when you got caught by your lover’s brother…. This was so awkward. Why hadn’t Ardyn just let him leave yet?

“Leonis, I am seriously not bothered. Can I leave now?” Somnus kept his focus on Ardyn as he spoke. He was finding this just as unsettling as Cor was.

“If you do say anything I promise you, I will beat the living shit out of you.” Ardyn warned.

“Alright. Bye.”

Ardyn finally let Somnus pass and when the Founder King left silence crawled into the air.

Both Ardyn and Cor were thinking about how incredibly awkward that was and that now their secret was out. They had both enjoyed sneaking around and keeping their relationship to themselves. It was exciting and it had allowed them to explore things without anyone butting in. All of that was now ruined because Somnus still hadn’t learnt to knock.

Ardyn made a mental note to murder Somnus later. It would definitely teach him to knock in future. 

“That was awkward.” Ardyn stated the obvious, after a minute of silence.

“Just a bit.” Cor nodded, moving away from the desk to meet Ardyn in the centre of the room. Cor just wanted to say goodnight and go to bed.

“Just a bit…. Do you want to carry on?”

Was Ardyn being serious! Not after that, no Cor didn’t want to carry on. Neither should Ardyn.

“Fuck off Ardyn.”

“What!?”

* * *

Regis went wide-eyed when he saw his Grandfather approach him. The King glanced down at his watch to look at the time and he was blown away. “Am I seeing things? It’s 12:30 in the morning! Shouldn’t you be asleep?”

“Sleep isn’t important at the moment.” Somnus shook his head. Regis notice that he seemed a little off… What had happened now?

“Are you feeling well? Do I need to call a doctor for you, Grandfather?” Regis joked, still concerned as to why the laziest person this world had ever seen was still up after midnight.

“Ardyn’s humour has finally rubbed off on you. Speaking of Ardyn, you will never guess what I have just found out.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And Somnus decided to be a dick.
> 
> Hope you enjoyed :)


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